


He's My Setter

by peachbunny



Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: M/M, Rivals to Friends to Lovers, Volleyball AU, light stuff and fluff, the haikyuu AU i didn't think i wanted to write but apparently i do
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-30
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-15 02:02:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14149530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peachbunny/pseuds/peachbunny
Summary: "I only spike when it's a toss from Hwang Minhyun," Jihoon scoffs as he crosses his arms."Well, I'm here to change your mind," Daniel replies as he throws the ball directly at the most beautiful ace he's seen his whole life.Seoul High School volleyball team ace Park Jihoon is determined to catch the attention of his team captain with his flawless kills, but ends up catching Busan captain and star setter Kang Daniel's heart instead.





	1. Ready, Set, Serve

Daniel is jostled this way and that as their team attempted to sneak themselves into the balcony view, a few annoyed spectators shooting them angry looks - after all, a bunch of tall high schoolers with huge gym bags slung across their shoulders did nothing for spectator visibility. 

 

Especially when Daniel was adamant to bounce up and down excitedly as he watched the last few minutes of the game’s third set.

 

“It’s up!” he shouts, almost punching Jisung beside him as he held up an arm to cheer.

 

The crowd gasps as Seoul’s ace Jihoon hits the floor, arm outstretched just beyond the boundary line before quickly bouncing up as if unscathed. He watches Minhyun crouch and prepare to receive and set the tri-color ball that was starting to descend from its arc.

 

It happens in slow-motion, almost. Jihoon is sharply aware of everything around him and time slows to a crawl: Minhyun’s beautiful features blown wide with the tension of this final set, sweat dripping from his hair strands as his body pivots to set the ball  _ just right,  _ Woojin crouching behind him prepared to volley if anything goes to shit, Guanlin and Seongwoo shouting from the bench as Coach Seokhoon sat unmoving - and Jihoon feels blood pumping in his ears.

 

“Fly,” Minhyun whispers as Jihoon rounds past him, moving to the very edge of the other side of the court from where he had saved the ball just a few seconds prior. He springs his arm back, jumps as high as he could, stretches one arm in front of him and he feels the ball connect with his palm-

 

_ FWISH. _

 

Minhyun’s sets were perfect, graceful, balanced - and Jihoon hits the cross so rapidly that the opposing team didn’t have time to reshuffle positions.  

 

There’s a few moments of silence as the ball bounces on the other side of the court, safely within the boundary lines - and the crowd roars as the whistle is blown.

 

“Holy-” Jisung mouths as he is shaken roughly by the overexcited Daniel beside him. 

 

“Did you see that, hyung? Did you see that!” Daniel laughs, giddy at that tense last round. It was an evenly-matched rally until the opposing team sent a ball nearly out-of-bounds, only to be saved by Seoul’s ace. And the same ace was back up and running to receive an elegantly set ball. 

 

“What are you so excited for?” Jisung snaps good-naturedly as the color drained from his face. “We’re up against  _ that _ next!” 

 

“We can take that down no problem,” Jaehwan laughs beside Jisung before pointing to Daniel and himself. “Have a little trust in your setter captain and your star spiker.”

 

“But who is that? Number 2,” Daniel pointed down at the court, where Seoul’s players were running to the bench to high-five the other members. 

 

“Park Jihoon,” Jisung reads out from his notes. “Freshman.” 

 

“That’s still a freshman?” Jaehwan interjects, voice louder than normal as he tried to speak over the cheering crowd. 

 

“Explains why he runs that fast around the court,” Jisung scoffs. 

 

“Don’t hate him just because you’re old, hyung,” Daniel laughs as Jisung hits him on the head with the notebook. Jaehwan joined in the laughter and added a few more  _ old _ jokes to further annoy  Jisung, but Daniel was already focused on the brown-haired freshman from the Seoul team who was getting his hair ruffled by his ecstatic teammates down at the benches.

 

_ Park Jihoon _ , Daniel feels his mouth tugging into a smile.  _ I wonder what it would feel like to toss to you. _

 

***

 

“Nice kill, Jihoonie!” Ong Seongwoo shouts as he hands Jihoon a bottle of energy drink and gives him an encouraging slap on the back before walking over to the other players to hand them drinks as well. 

 

**“** That was amazing, hyung!” Guanlin piped in, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he hovered over Jihoon. 

 

“You were good at blocking during the first set as well,” Jihoon offered back, politely trying to push the attention away from himself. Volleyball was a team sport - and as much as Jihoon loved the sensation of getting through his opponents’ defenses with a perfect spike - he was careful not to stand out too much. 

 

Even if Guanlin looked like he was about to kiss Jihoon’s shoes in admiration at any moment. 

 

“Besides,” Jihoon looked down at his shoes to hide the blush that was creeping up his cheek (he hoped the flush from the physical exhaustion would hide it well), “It was Minhyun-hyung who was making the real game out there!”

 

Jihoon could physically feel Woojin rolling his eyes beside him as the younger boy took gulps of the energy drink, but Jihoon couldn’t resist looking up to see a smiling Hwang Minhyun. The older boy was the captain of the Seoul High School Volleyball Team, and deservedly so - Minhyun carried himself with a calm confidence that brought up team morale, and was one of the best setters in the region. 

 

_ Not to mention the fact that he was breathtakingly handsome. _

 

Jihoon looked up to see Minhyun laughing at something Seongwoo must have said, and ended up choking on his energy drink.

 

“Captain!” Guanlin and Woojin chorused, taking a step forward.

 

Jihoon and the entire team worriedly tried to calm their captain down - and laughed at him when it seemed like he was going to live through it. 

 

“You all panic too much,” Minhyun panted, offering everyone a good-natured smile.

 

_ He was also a giant dork and Jihoon found that stupidly endearing.  _

 

***

 

**“** Are you sure you’re staying behind?” Minhyun cocked his head to the side as he slung his gym bag over his shoulder. The entire team had changed into their gym clothes and team jackets - powder blue and off-white accentuated with a coral pink accent. The crowd was also gone, along with them the TV crew who was filming the semi-final match. 

 

It was Seoul team versus Incheon, and whoever won would go against the Busan team in a practice match before the actual finals games - and Jihoon just spiked the ball that won that contest against Incheon.

 

“I don’t really want to bu-OW!” Woojin started to grumble as he scratched at his leg, before earning a sharp pinch from Jihoon.

  
“Of course,” Jihoon smiled sweetly, clutching at the hem of his jacket. “We’ll catch up to the celebration dinner in a while. The chicken place in Hongdae, right?” 

 

“Yes, that one,” Minhyun smiled back. “I chose it since you said chicken was your favorite.”

 

Jihoon felt butterflies rising up his stomach and straight into his throat, rendering him unable to say anything back except to squeak “yay!”

 

Minhyun waved at the two Parks as he made his way out of the gym to join the team who was loading into the school van. 

 

“Can you not be disgusting for like...two seconds,” Woojin whined, taking off his jacket and throwing it on the bench. 

 

“He chose the chicken place _I_ like,” Jihoon grinned as he followed Woojin and took off his jacket. “Let me have my moment, I don’t complain when you obviously reuse your old clothes for class.” 

 

“It’s just a chicken place, Jihoon,”  Woojin replied as he picked up a ball from the crate. “It’s not like he went down on one knee and asked you to be his boyfriend.”

 

“Today, chicken,” Jihoon replied, taking his position beside the net as Woojin prepared to toss. “Tomorrow,  _ Jihoon will you be mine _ . And once he sees how much I have improved my spikes and my saves, he’ll be so impressed he’d have no choice but to like me back.” 

 

“Tch,” Woojin tutted, releasing the ball from his hands - and a few milliseconds later it was slammed down on the other side of the court. “You’re already good enough - if ever he’s going to fall for you based on volleyball prowess alone, he should have liked you back by now.” 

 

“Not yet,” Jihoon replied, pulling up the sleeves of his shirt and rolling it up to his shoulders. “We’ve practiced before, and I’ve never met his tosses on zero tempo quick.”

 

To spike a zero tempo meant that there had to be perfect coordination between the spiker and the setter - and if Jihoon manages to hit Minhyun’s toss at zero tempo, that meant that them getting together was a mandate of heaven. 

 

“Whatever you say, Hoonie,” Woojin dismissed his friend as he prepared to toss another ball. 

 

_ Toss, spike, slam. Toss, spike, slam.  _

 

Jihoon relished the feeling - the ball connecting with his hands at the right instant, and seeing it bounce on the other side of the net a few moments later. It was an exhilarating high, and he loved it. 

 

The fourth ball Jihoon spikes in rolls to the far side of the court, where one boy in Busan’s black and gold uniform stood. The two Parks cautiously huddled together as the tall boy approached - blonde hair gleaming against the gym light and face radiant. 

 

Woojin pulled Jihoon in and whispered, “Isn’t that Busan’s captain?” 

 

Jihoon looked at his friend with eyes wide. “Kang Daniel?”

 

“I think you’ll want this back,” Daniel called from the other side of the net, holding up the tricolor volleyball.

 

“Uh,” Woojin started, and Jihoon cut him off. “Yeah, thanks.”

 

“Also,” the tall boy continued, tossing the ball back to their side. Jihoon catches it with both hands. “I saw your match earlier - it was brilliant. You’re…libero Park Woojin and...Park Jihoon, is it?” 

 

“The one and only. And thanks,” Jihoon smirked. “I believe we’re up against you soon. Kang Daniel?”

 

“Wow,” Daniel’s face registered surprise. “How do you know?” 

 

Jihoon didn’t know if the boy was using a dumb facade to spy on their practice, or if he was really transparent. 

 

“You’re kind of wearing the Busan uniform,” Jihoon replied flatly.

 

“Ah,” Daniel laughed - a musical sound that made Jihoon feel like he said something really, really funny - even when he didn’t. This Daniel person was weird. 

 

There was a few moments of awkward silence before Daniel piped up, “Mind if I practice on this side of the net? Wanted to feel the court before the matches.” 

 

“Be our guest,” Woojin called out, but he glanced at Jihoon to communicate that maybe they shouldn’t be practicing while the opposing team’s captain was just across them. Daniel started taking off his black-and-gold jacket, revealing strong arms underneath the short-sleeved gym shirt he was wearing.

 

Jihoon responded with a slight nod as they made their way back to the bench to pick up their things. Jihoon grumbled as they walked.  _ Weird-ass Kang Daniel preventing him from practicing and impressing Hwang Minhyun.  _

 

_ BAM. _

 

Woojin and Jihoon turned around to see the ball bouncing on their side of the court, with a sound that felt like Daniel had spiked the ball. The Busan captain stood at the other side of the court, tall and imposing and dead serious - a far cry from the laughing ball of sunshine they were talking to earlier.

 

The two watched on, transfixed at the elegant movements that contrasted with Daniel’s huge build, as Daniel picked up another ball and walked back to the end line. 

 

“He’s  _ serving _ ?” Woojin hissed. 

 

“It sounded a hell of a lot like a  _ spike _ ,” Jihoon whispered back, accidentally dropping the ball he had in his hands and it rolled towards the court. He followed after it as his sight followed Daniel’s movements across the net. 

 

_ A jump serve?  _ Jihoon thought as he chased after the ball he dropped, with Daniel walking steps away from the endline. He spins the ball in his hands, once, twice, before taking a few seconds to hold it out in front of his face. 

 

Daniel tosses the ball high in a calculated arc, and his body gracefully breaks into a run forward before he launches himself up in the air and springs into a posture that looks too much like a spike -  _ but it’s a serve, it’s a jump serve, it shouldn’t be that powerful  _ \- 

 

_ BAM. _

 

Jihoon saw stars and felt his face go numb as he fell backwards.

 

“Jihoon!” Woojin shouts as he drops his jacket back on the bench, quickly running over. That serve was definitely no ordinary serve if it could knock someone as sturdy as Jihoon back.

 

“Oh my god,” Daniel gasps from his side of the court. 

 

He just hit a game-ending serve right smack into Park Jihoon’s beautiful face.


	2. Picture Perfect

“Uh,” the photographer scratched his head as he looked at the screen. “Jihoon-ssi, can you tilt your head a bit to the right?” 

 

Jihoon complies, but not before throwing the umpteenth death glare of the afternoon at Kang Daniel, who was sitting behind the photographer attempting to shrink his huge frame as small as he can to avoid being stared down into oblivion by the Seoul freshman. 

 

The camera clicks for what seemed like a hundred times as Jihoon tilted his gaze this way and that, angling his face based on how the staff directed him - he didn’t enjoy being the center of attention for anything, he just wanted to play his heart out on the court. But being good at something was bound to grab attention - especially when it was high school sports. So now he was stuck in a photoshoot for a feature in a high school magazine for the upcoming finals match - with a bandage over the bridge of his nose and some swelling on his busted lower lip that was barely concealed by the makeup. 

 

“Such a shame,” the makeup artist had tutted as she dusted Jihoon’s features with some blur powder or whatever magical cosmetic item that was - and Jihoon inwardly agreed. The only time he gets alone time with Hwang Minhyun and he looks like a trainwreck beside Minhyun’s angelic features. 

 

All thanks to Kang Daniel and his stupidly strong service ace received entirely by Jihoon’s eyes, nose, and lips. If it weren’t immature to growl and hiss at Daniel during the shoot, he would. Instead he bites his lips out of nervous habit, because heaven knows that this magazine will sell out faster than hotcakes - what with Seoul’s captain and ace on the same spread as Busan’s own captain and ace. 

 

The photographer thinks the lip bite is going to get them more clicks on social media and more purchases for the youth-oriented magazine, so he smiles contentedly at Jihoon’s shots and yells a “Good take! Now let’s have one with the captain.”

 

Daniel awkwardly stands up only to run into Hwang Minhyun, who stood up at the same time - and everyone looks at the tall Busan captain with eyebrows raised. The photographer chuckles before adding, “The Seoul captain, of course.” 

 

Daniel sits back down and feels his ears burn bright red, with Jaehwan laughing beside him. The both of them were dressed in their school’s colors - a deep black with gold trim, and Jaehwan was playing around with a matching black-and-gold ball that had Busan written all over it. 

 

Daniel mumbles a “shut up” as he grabs the ball and hugs it in between his knees, putting his chin on top as he pouted. He watches as Minhyun moves to the backdrop to pat Jihoon on the shoulder - the younger visibly relaxing and mood improving as he looked up at his captain. 

 

For some reason, Daniel wanted to be at the receiving end of Jihoon’s bright eyes, instead of the daggers he’s been getting all morning.

 

“Seriously,” Jaehwan snickers as he stretches his legs. “Can’t you hide emotions at all, Niel?” 

 

“No,” Daniel laments as he watches the photographer direct the two Seoul boys to sit down on the floor and arranged Minhyun’s long limbs on Jihoon’s strong shoulders. “I can’t control the direction of my serves either, apparently.”

 

“So Seoul’s ace is mad at you,” Jaehwan puts a comforting hand on Daniel’s back before putting two hands spread like a flower at the bottom of his chin. “I would be too if you ruined this beautiful face.”

 

“I love how useless you are in moments like these,” Daniel puts his forehead down onto the ball. 

 

“He still looks like an angel, though,” Jaehwan commented, making Daniel lift his head up, and he sees how natural Jihoon’s pout was despite needing to be coaxed into feeling relaxed. “I’m kinda glad you blemished that face otherwise they’d look like a perfect set of cherubs.” 

 

“They still do,” Daniel agrees, because a swollen lip and a bandage across his nose did not diminish Park Jihoon’s charm one bit. If anything, it only made him look tougher than he looked - which was the point of the magazine’s feature anyway. 

 

“Meanwhile there’s you and I - and my handsome face has to do the work for the both of us,” Jaehwan adds, earning him a punch from Daniel. 

  
  
*

 

“Great work there, Hoonie,” Minhyun smiles - that usual smile of his that crinkles his eyes in a way that pulls out a smile out of Jihoon despite everything. 

 

“The photos wouldn’t look as good if you weren’t in them,” Jihoon comments, pulling at the hem of his varsity jacket. “Big Bad Busan Blondie over there had to make sure I looked like a pleb beside you.” 

 

Minhyun laughs and ruffles Jihoon’s hair, earning a hiss from the hair and makeup artist who was on standby. Minhyun quickly bows in apology and tries to smooth out Jihoon’s hair as he continued laughing quietly. 

 

“I like the rough look on you,” Minhyun coos as he pulls at the strands and arranges them precisely. Jihoon could feel warmth travel up his cheeks - because Minhyun was so close, Minhyun was so  _ nice,  _ his honey voice echoed all around him, and his delicate fingers that set so beautifully at court were now carding through Jihoon’s hair and it was almost all too much.

 

“You like me all busted up?” Jihoon tries to act natural, tries to smile a bit less. 

 

“Don’t be a smart-ass,” Minhyun pinches his cheek before turning to the two boys from Busan high school who were having a harder time with their turn at the photoshoot. “If you came in here without that bandage and that lip, you’ll be too overwhelmed with confessions and proposals from other students that you won’t have time to practice.” 

 

Jihoon snorts. “Like I’d answer to any of those confessions,” he scoffs, eyes following Minhyun’s to watch Daniel and Jaehwan and the frustrated photographer.  _ You’re the only one I’d accept, anyway. _

 

“Aish, you’ll get to that point sooner or later,” Minhyun replies thoughtfully as he glances sidelong at his junior. Jihoon looks up at Minhyun and misses how his hyung’s tone colors with unspoken meaning.

 

_ I’m already at that part, _ he wanted to respond as he watches the subtle changes in Minhyun’s expression as they stand a few feet from the chaos that was happening.

 

“I can’t piggyback you,” Daniel whines as Jaehwan tries to convince him that it’d be good photoshoot material. 

 

“You can’t piggyback him,” the photographer answered, running a palm on his face. The blonde captain was noticeably downcast today, and the hyperactive ace seemed like he had downed five cans of red bull before entering the photo studio.  

 

The two Busan boys awkwardly posed - one too stiff and the other too all-over-the-place. The photographer was at his wits’ end when he suddenly snapped his fingers as an idea dawned on him. 

 

“Minhyun-ssi, Jihoon-ssi,” he called at the two boys who were standing behind him. “Can we take that spread with the four of you in the shot now?” 

 

All four boys looked confused but Minhyun is the first to nod and approach the backdrop. He takes his place opposite Daniel, and Jihoon trailed behind him, eyes still squinted at the Busan captain. 

 

“Okay, let’s try to mix up the captains with the spikers,” the photographer directs, and Jaehwan walks over to Minhyun, dropping some small talk that the captain laughs immediately at. 

 

Daniel, on the other hand, looked like a frightened samoyed being glared at by a particularly angry kitten. Jihoon clutches his fist and stomps over to where Daniel stood, the taller boy making sure they had a good safe space between them in case Jihoon suddenly went rabid and mauled him to death with a volleyball and pure rage. 

 

“I’m really sorry,” Daniel whispers his nth apology as he follows the photographer’s prompt for him to put an arm around Jihoon. 

 

“If we weren’t in public, I’d break that arm,” Jihoon replied through gritted teeth, leaning into Daniel and faking a smile at the camera.  

 

“Please don’t,” Daniel whined back as they listened to the endless clicks and the occasional camera flash. “I still need it to play.” 

 

“Right,” Jihoon replied as he tilted his head. “Because  _ I  _ didn’t need my face to play anyway.”

 

“I think you’re still beautiful,” Daniel blurts out suddenly, causing the younger boy to scrunch his nose up at him (he cringes at the pain that shoots up the bridge of his nose). 

 

“Daniel-ssi, Jihoon-ssi, that’s not a good expression,” the photographer calls out. He was hoping that mixing the two would help the two Busan boys calm down - and while it did work wonders for Jaehwan who was a lot more behaved around Minhyun - Daniel and Jihoon were a separate problem altogether.

 

“Now I definitely have to kill you,” Jihoon whispers as he goes back to smiling at the camera and holds his hands up in a peace sign.

 

“No really, I meant it,” Daniel reasons as he leans on one elbow at Jihoon’s shoulder. He decides that the boy was the perfect size to rest his arms on.

 

“Just buy him chicken,” Minhyun calls from the other side of the backdrop, taking the two by surprise. They didn't expect the other two to be listening in. “And Jihoon, stop giving him a hard time - save that for court.” 

 

Daniel throws an appreciative glance at Hwang Minhyun - who he decides is  _ not a bad guy _ \- and watches as Jihoon draws back the barbs like he’d follow Minhyun’s instructions to the ends of the earth. 

 

“ _ Two _ boxes of chicken,” Jihoon manages as he tries  _ very hard  _ to smile up at Daniel. The older boy smiles right back at Jihoon, but his is full of sincerity and genuine joy. 

 

“It’s a date,” Daniel chirps, suddenly so cheerful that it surprised Jihoon. The boy wore his heart on his sleeve, on top of his forehead, and carries it around as an aura around him. 

 

“No, it’s not,” Jihoon replies quickly, flustered when Minhyun begins laughing and Jaehwan  _ ooooh- _ ed. He throws out a hand for a quick shake just to make sure Minhyun sees that Kang Daniel and Park Jihoon were not going to be a thing, were not even friends, and he’d gladly drop kick the tall blonde before they go out on anything remotely resembling a date. “You can just give me the cash right here and we’ll call it even.” 

 

Daniel raises an eyebrow but throws in a shake as well. “Deal.” 

 

Park Jihoon put the _con_ in reconciliation, but Daniel was just glad that the beautiful spiker was no longer mad at him. 

 

Jihoon swats Daniel’s hand away when he attempts to ruffle the younger’s hair. His smile was ironically saccharine when he looks up at Daniel. “Makeup noona doesn’t like my hair getting messed up.”

 

 

Okay, maybe Jihoon was still  _ a bit  _ mad at him.

  
  


***

 

 

“So this is Busan captain’s money?” Woojin held up the bills in his hand as the two Parks descended from the bus. The entire Seoul volleyball team was out on a training camp before the finals match - and Seokhoon decided to bring them to a relaxing sojourn to Gapyeong to get the team motivated.

 

“All 30,000 won of it, yes,” Jihoon responded as he bounced on his heel, following their teammates into the training facility. 

 

“Let’s go get-” Woojin was excited to spend his friend’s hard-earned money as he followed Jihoon. 

 

“Chicken.” Jihoon responded with finality as he adjusted his gym bag. 

 

Woojin looked at him with a face that said  _ are you kidding me right now  _ before rubbing his temples.

 

“We’re in Gapyeong,” Woojin started. “And you will blow this cash on something we can get  _ anywhere. _ ” 

 

“My money, my rules,” Jihoon answered. “It was hard enough to get that money, I’m just glad I don’t need to interact with Kang Daniel on a friendly capacity after that photoshoot because I am so looking forward to crushing him in court.”

 

Woojin sighed as he handed back the bills to Jihoon and they continued trudging with the team to enter the huge gym that stood before them.  The two heard some arguing ahead of them in the line, and they approached the huddled team at the doorway.

 

“I booked this place first, Kahi,” Coach Seokhoon argued with a lady they were unfamiliar with.

 

“Well, we got here first,” the woman responded coolly, placing a hand on her hip. 

 

“We can’t have these two teams interacting until the actual match,” Seokhoon sighed. 

 

“Who says we can’t?” the woman named Kahi replied, scanning the entire Seoul team with her eyes. Jihoon and Woojin managed to walk towards the front, and they could hear the sounds of players spiking balls from within the gym.

 

“Well, we already used the team budget to book this place, and we’re already here,” Seokhoon conceded. “Let’s just hope they play nice.”

 

“They have no choice but to play nice,” Kahi responded, throwing a smirk at the boys from the team, who all looked somehow smitten by the older woman. She raises an eyebrow at Seokhoon before turning around to enter the gym. "At least my boys will."

 

“Which team is it, Coach?” Minhyun raised his voice as Seokhoon tried to herd the team into the sleeping quarters before they started warming up for the training camp.

 

Just then, a ball rolls out of the gym’s open door and hits the toe of Jihoon’s rubber shoes. 

 

He hears a very familiar voice call out, “I’ll get it!” before a very familiar blonde head popped out to retrieve the ball.

 

“Park Jihoon!” Daniel greets, pleasantly surprised.

 

Woojin bursts out laughing as Jihoon lets out a frustrated groan.

 

_ This was going to be a long, looooong week. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back from my vacation~! Typed this up on my phone so excuse any mistakes/typos -- I might fix them up later :D  
> Hoping to get a regular update on this one so I can finish it before the month ends hihi
> 
> Also I just realized I put Woojin and Minhyun in the Seoul team even though they're from Busan........pls ignore this fact I just couldn't find proper volleyball team names ;___;
> 
> Up next: Feelings abound when the Busan team trains with the Seoul team  
> There may or may not be some onghwang *waggles eyebrows*
> 
> Comments and kudos are very much appreciated (and motivate me to write the next chapter faster heh) !


	3. Just Trust Me

"How about today?" 

 

Daniel calls out enthusiastically when the Seoul team exited the gym and the Busan boys prepared to go in after their warm-ups. It was a difficult setup trying to practice while avoiding the “enemy” team’s own practice sessions - but both Seoul and Busan boys were surprisingly well-mannered in respecting the schedules for gym and facilities use. 

 

...except maybe Kang Daniel who managed to show up just in time to annoy the living daylights out of Park Jihoon.

 

Like today: Daniel is holding out a tricolor ball, the last one Jihoon had to pick up. 

 

"I told you, I only spike when it's a toss from Hwang Minhyun," Jihoon scoffs as he crosses his arms.   
  
"Well, I'm here to change your mind," Daniel replies as he throws the ball directly at the most beautiful ace he's seen his whole life.

  
"Well, I’m not here to have my mind changed - so goodbye," Jihoon catches the ball, dumps it into the ball cage, and follows Guanlin and Woojin out of the gym as it started to fill up with the Busan team members. Kang Daniel was always way too early - almost like he was angling to spy on the last few minutes of the Seoul team's cooldown.   
  
"Tomorrow then!" Daniel's voice cheerily called out even as Jihoon trudged over to stride beside Woojin.   
  
"How many times will you reject your  _ one _ and  _ only  _ suitor," Woojin snickers, putting his hands in his pocket when his best friend glares at him. It's the third day of the training camp and the umpteenth time that Daniel had asked Jihoon to spike for him - at this point, the entire Seoul team was placing bets on the Busan captains dogged determination to play with Jihoon or their own ace's stubbornness to only hit the balls tossed by Hwang Minhyun. 

 

And most of them bet on Kang Daniel simply because they wanted to annoy Jihoon.    
  
Everyone, coaches included, was surprised to see Daniel acting friendly with Park Jihoon when the training camp started, and it was great entertainment to see how much Jihoon was glaring back or trying to cut conversation short. Everyone knew about the serve-to-the-face incident (Jihoon had to wear a bandage to the chicken dinner and had a swollen face for the better part of an entire week), so they wondered what was up with the sudden one-sided friendship. 

 

Jihoon thinks he's being very, very obvious that he didn't want to be Daniel's friend, but the huge boy kept coming at him anyway.    
  
"Can I sit with you?" Daniel asked that evening at the mess hall, holding up a tray of food.   
  
"No," Jihoon pointedly answered, throwing a leg up on the empty seat beside him.    
  
"Sure," Woojin answered at the same time, swatting his friend's leg down as Daniel sat happily beside them. The conversation switched to Woojin originally hailing from Busan, and the two boys chatted over Jihoon’s scowl until they got back to the topic of volleyball.

 

“Jihoonie here might be an annoying brat and a pain in the ass,” Woojin started, earning a glare from Jihoon and a stolen chicken leg from his plate, “but he’s the best damn spiker in all of Seoul.”

 

“I heard! And I saw during your semi-finals match,” Daniel grinned before turning to Jihoon. "Please, please, let me toss to you.”   


“No,” Jihoon replied plainly as he stood up with an empty tray, cursing his luck when he saw Hwang Minhyun just entering the mess hall to start his dinner. Ong Seongwoo was trailing behind him, and Jihoon made a mental note to ask exactly when the two started to get this close - after all, Ong Seongwoo wasn’t even a regular player on the team. He started out as water boy and slowly wormed his way up to linesman during practice, and now was a substitute player. 

 

But mostly still a water boy.   
  


“Captain,” Woojin waves and Minhyun makes his way to their table with a fake salute and a smile. Jihoon drops his tray on the disposal rack, and hurries back to try to get a seat beside Minhyun - only to find their table completely full of people: Minhyun sitting beside Woojin and Seongwoo taking the seat beside Daniel, all Seoul boys looking right at home with the invading Busan captain.

 

Jihoon makes his way and hovers beside Daniel, attempting to make the huge boy feel uncomfortable enough to leave. 

 

“Oh, Jihoonie,” Minhyun greets. “Done with dinner?”

 

“He eats like a  _ vacuum, _ you bet he’s done,” Woojin answers before Jihoon could open his mouth, and Jihoon made another mental note to smother Woojin’s head with a pillow in his sleep.

 

“I’m just waiting for Woojin,” Jihoon smiled sweetly, but gives Woojin a look that said he didn’t have much time left to live. “Why don’t you move over so I can sit, too?” 

 

“My butt’s too tired to move,” Woojin deadpanned, earning some laughs from both Seongwoo and Minhyun. Jihoon’s blood began to boil because he was dead-set on spending as much time as possible with Hwang Minhyun during this training camp - and his childhood best friend’s tired butt was not helping.

 

“Here, Jihoon,” Daniel’s husky voice came in its usual chirpy tone, “You can sit with me.”

 

There was an awkward silence as the group stared at Daniel and how his big frame occupied the entire seat. 

 

“On what exactly...your lap?” Jihoon broke the silence as he raised an eyebrow at Kang Daniel, earning a few snickers from the other people on the table.  

 

The image of the pretty spiker sitting on his lap during dinner made Daniel’s ears burn red and he sputtered on the meat he was eating. Daniel’s mind went blank and his mouth answered for him, “If you want...to?”

 

“Scoot over,” Jihoon feels a blush creep up his cheek because  _ nope, this was not the way the conversation was supposed to go _ .

 

Daniel moves half a buttcheek off the seat as Jihoon stuffs himself beside him.. “Thanks,” Jihoon says in a low voice, trying not to interrupt the discussion between Seongwoo and Minhyun.

 

“Will you spike my tosses tomorrow?” Daniel whispers, smiling at the boy who was squished against him on the chair.

 

“Maybe,” Jihoon grumbles, uncomfortably trying to fit his shoulders beside Daniel’s own broad ones as he leans over to hear the story Minhyun was beginning to tell. Daniel feels his face crack into those bunny-like smiles his friends loved to tease him about - because a  _ maybe _ from Park Jihoon was good enough for now.

 

***

  
  


“This is a sucky setup if you ask me,” Jihoon complained to Woojin beside him as he wiped his brow with the back of his hand. 

 

They had already finished several laps around the block as a team, did their drills on the outdoor field of the facility - and the Busan team  _ still _ wasn’t finished with morning practice. 

 

“We couldn’t even watch them play,” Woojin agreed, sipping on his bottle of  _ potari sweat _ before looking around and grunting. “And it’s blazing hot today, how the hell does Minhyun-hyung manage to look like  _ that _ !” 

 

Jihoon followed Woojin’s gaze to where their captain was doing some quad stretches under the sun, pale skin flushed from the exercise and jet black hair matted against his brow; but somehow looking like he got out of a shower instead of the rigorous drills they were doing a few minutes earlier. 

 

He was chatting with sub-player and designated team water boy Ong Seongwoo, who joined them for half a lap and promptly collapsed on the floor. 

 

It was almost funny - except Minhyun had to stop running to take Seongwoo to the infirmary, and Jihoon wanted to run alongside his captain that morning.

 

“One,” Jihoon licked his lips before taking Woojin’s bottle and taking a sip for himself, “I’m convinced Hwang Minhyun is an  _ angel _ , and two,”

 

Jihoon looked mischievously at Woojin. 

 

“Coach said we  _ shouldn’t _ watch Busan play, nobody said we  _ couldn’t _ .” 

 

Woojin nodded, and the two Parks ran around the gym to settle on the side where a low window afforded them a view of the Busan team’s practice. 

 

Jihoon notes how Kang Daniel stood in the middle of the court, shouting encouragements at his teammates as he tossed to each and every one in line, each one jumping up and blindly swatting at air. 

 

Sometimes, one of them manages to connect with the ball - but for the most part, nearly all the tosses were missed. 

 

Jihoon snickers under his breath. So Busan’s game plan was zero tempo quick, huh? Too bad their setter was-

 

Jihoon eyes widened as Kang Daniel and his stupid blond head moved around the court, tossing varying levels for his teammates to spike, perfect arcs that his teammates only barely missed.

 

_ Daniel was almost as good as Minhyun.  _

 

Jihoon shook his head as he realized the thought that just crossed his mind. Minhyun was the best setter in the country, to compare others to him was almost a betrayal.

 

The Busan team switched to normal quicks, and the success rate went up alarmingly fast.

 

The spikes and quicks that the Busan team members were hitting into the other half of the court were flawless, and the effortless way they jumped into the air and just hit with brute strength showed how much they trusted that they would get the set into their hands right in time.

 

Woojin’s mouth was hanging open. “I knew he threw a monster serve, but I didn’t know he sets this good,” the younger Park whispered. 

 

Jihoon turns around and walks away back to their teammates on the other side of the court. “ _ Meh, _ I think Minhyun-hyung is worlds better.” 

 

But something told Jihoon that playing against Busan was going to be an even match, what with the control and grace with which Daniel commanded the entire team.

 

“Isn’t it enough that you already followed him all the way to highschool from middle school?” Woojin rolled his eyes. “You could at least acknowledge that Busan’s captain-setter is just as good.” 

 

“I’d follow him to the ends of the earth,” Jihoon replied. “And fine, Kang Daniel’s good - but we still need to pulverize him in court.

 

“So here’s where the two of you are,” a voice came from behind them, surprising both boys. 

 

"Minhyun-hyung!" Jihoon's face brightened as he faced Minhyun, kicking Woojin as he felt his friend roll his eyes for the nth time in this training camp. In as much as Jihoon didn't like having to deal with the overgrown ball of sunshine that was Kang Daniel on a daily basis, spending 24/7 with Hwang Minhyun was more than enough incentive for Jihoon to enjoy this entire affair.   
  
Minhyun flashes Jihoon a quiet smile before saying, "You could practice with Kang Daniel, you know."   
  
"What?"   
  
"I heard him asking you to spike for him,” Minhyun explains. “We don't have a lot of great setters on the team, and it would do you good to spike some tosses by an expert so you could experiment more on that zero tempo quick you want to spike so much."   
  
"But you're an expert, Minhyun-hyung," Jihoon argues, _and_ _the zero tempo quick is going to be our thing_ , living proof that Minhyun and Jihoon were perfectly coordinated and meant to be.   
  
"Kang Daniel is the best in his region," Minhyun says. "I'd even say he's the best setter in the country."  
  
"No," Jihoon interrupts, "I think Minhyun-hyung is the better setter."   
  
Minhyun ruffles his hair as he gives a quick laugh.   
  
"That's because I'm the only setter you've played with," Minhyun answers. "Give him a chance - you'd be surprised how much you'll learn just spiking a different kind of toss."   
  
"I'll…I'll think about it," Jihoon answers, which was Jihoon-speak for _never in a million years_.

  
  


***

 

Jihoon walks lazily back from the communal showers, where he had to survive a battle for soap among five other equally sweaty teenage boys and emerged victorious. Everyone else was either in the showers or back in their rooms relaxing after a tiring day of running around, working on drills, more running around, more drills, then several practice sets.

 

For some reason, he is unable to get Minhyun’s words out of his mind. 

 

_ You could practice with Kang Daniel, you know _ . 

 

_ Like that would ever happen _ , Jihoon thinks. He’s disappointed that Minhyun doesn’t see how hard Jihoon had worked to earn a place beside him; to be the one to spike Minhyun’s tosses and earn that split-second look of admiration from him when he hits in a set-winning spike.

 

Jihoon hates how maybe Minhyun is oblivious to his more-than-blatant feelings, how Minhyun is unaware that the only reason Jihoon started playing volleyball was to get his attention. 

 

Maybe he had to say it outright? Maybe Jihoon needed to build up the guts to actually confess instead of dropping hints and chasing after his captain like a little puppy. Jihoon smirks, because  _ how hard could that be, right? Maybe he should’ve done this a long time ago, _ but a churning sensation in his stomach tells him not to do it. 

 

What if Minhyun doesn’t like him back? 

 

_ We make him _ , his internal monologue was slowed to a halt when he spots movement along the corridor, and notices jet black hair and lithe build turn into a hallway that led out into the garden. 

 

_ Minhyun-hyung!  _ Jihoon skipped after his captain, internally debating whether he should just rip his confession off like a band aid or just sit beside Minhyun to enjoy a lovely sunset - either way, he gets to spend time with the beautiful Hwang Minhyun.

 

Jihoon turns the corner and breathes in the scent of spring flowers and leaves and smiles at the way the golden sunlight bathed the pocket garden in a warm glow - his eyes scanning the foliage for any sign of the older boy he was following. 

 

He hears hushed whispers and freezes in his way to step into the garden - because Hwang Minhyun was definitely not alone, and Hwang Minhyun was whispering  _ be quiet, what if they hear us,  _ and a voice was answering,  _ then let them hear, it’s not like we’re doing anything wrong,  _ and Hwang Minhyun was entangled in the arms of another boy who looked equally as ethereal in the fading light.

 

And Hwang Minhyun’s lips were on the other boy’s own.

 

“Seongwoo-hyung,” Jihoon breathes out as he walks back from where he came, unable to believe what he had just witnessed, eyes staring blankly ahead. “The  _ freaking  _ waterboy.” 

  
  
  


***

  
  


“Pretty boy who took a ball to the face is glaring at you,” Jaehwan whispered, tapping Daniel’s shoulder with the handle of the mop he was holding. The two of them were left behind to clean the gym and close up after practice while the entire team gathered at the mess hall for kimchi fried rice (Daniel knows it’s kimchi fried rice because Jaehwan had never cleaned the gym so fast his whole life).

 

“Set to me,” Jihoon took off his jacket and threw it onto the floor. 

 

Daniel stared at Jihoon as Jaehwan waved off. 

 

“Finally, you let me toss to you?” Daniel joked, the usual bright smile on his face even more brilliant at finally getting the chance to toss to the Seoul ace. “I was almost sure I had to wait a few more years before you-”

 

Daniel’s voice stopped as he noticed Jihoon barely looking at him with bloodshot eyes, and he seemed almost mechanical in his focus to pick up a ball and toss it to Daniel. 

 

“Hey, are you oka-” Daniel started, catching the ball and taking a few steps forward to put a hand on Jihoon’s shoulder.

  
“I said,  _ set to me _ , damn it!” Jihoon snapped, turning his back to Daniel. “You’ve been asking for me to spike for you, right? Then let’s do it.” 

 

*

 

“Just,” Daniel ran fingers through his hair, exasperated. “Just jump when you feel like it, I’ll meet you.”

 

They have been going at it for nearly 30 minutes straight; no words uttered between them except for occasional instruction from Daniel. 

  
Jihoon was obviously off of his game, missing even the simple tosses Daniel wanted to throw - but the smaller boy was intent that they do a zero tempo quick: where Jihoon is supposed to jump in place and swat his hand forward before even knowing where Daniel will be tossing the ball. Daniel can’t figure Jihoon out, can’t time his tosses properly - can’t even understand why the boy was so obviously  _ upset. _

 

“Maybe we can try again tomorrow?” Daniel offered unhelpfully, scratching at his nape.

 

Jihoon swallowed and threw the ball at Daniel. “One more.” 

 

“Jihoon.” Daniel’s tone turned serious as he stared at the boy until Jihoon finally pulled his gaze up and they were looking straight at each other’s eyes. He sighed. Jihoon was going to keep doing this all night. “Stop thinking for a moment and just.  _ Trust me. _ ”

 

Jihoon nodded as he wiped the sweat from his jaw. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and decided to just clear his mind. Clear his mind of all the feelings that have been welling up his chest for the last few hours - but everything’s just so crystal clear in his memory that he finds tears welling up the corners of his eyes instead. Jihoon jumps, tries to block out everything else desperately, and he angles his body and coils his arm to just to strike something,  _ anything _ \- 

 

_ SMACK. _

 

Jihoon felt the ball connect with his palm as his vision blurred with tears - he just wanted to hit something hard; feel something other than the hurt that shot through his chest when he saw the love of his life kissing someone else. 

 

He puts in all his strength, all those unsaid words, all those  _ years _ spent pining over Hwang Minhyun, those early morning compliments, the countless hours just trying to get better so that Minhyun would notice him and acknowledge him not just in court, but outside of it as well. 

 

Jihoon wanted to let go of all that, so he lets his spike crash hard into the other side of the court. 

 

_ BLAM. _

 

The ball hit the other half of the court hard, echoing across the gym as it bounced a few more times before rolling past the end line. 

 

Daniel’s eyes were trained on the ball, surprised himself that a  _ zero tempo quick  _ \- something he couldn’t do even with Jaehwan who has trained with him for years - was hit that well by the smaller freshman who stood in front of him.

 

“Did you see that? Did you SEE that?” Daniel bounced up and down as he whipped his head from the ball on the opposite side of the court to Jihoon. “I told you, just trust m-” 

 

Daniel’s rejoicing was cut short when he looked at Jihoon, whose eyes were suddenly filled with tears, making those beautiful irises twinkle with even more iridescence than their usual sparkle. Jihoon looked  _ so sad  _ that it broke Daniel’s heart just to look. He bites his tongue to keep from asking if the younger was okay, because he obviously was not. 

 

So he stood there in silence as he listens to the uncontrollable sobs that rack through Jihoon’s body, the boy biting hard at his lip to prevent from whimpering. Daniel reaches out a hand - slowly, tentatively, like he would approach a feral cat - but Jihoon is the one who steps forward and closes the space between them, burying his head on Daniel’s shoulder as he finally let himself cry hard, hidden against the warmth.

 

Daniel lets him cry for a few seconds, his own face twisted in sympathy and hands hanging lamely on his sides, unsure what to do. 

 

“You were great today, Park Jihoon,” he mumbled as he felt Jihoon’s tears creating a stain on his jersey. Daniel decided right then that he didn’t like seeing Jihoon sad. “Thank you for trusting me.”

 

“Why can’t he like me instead?” Jihoon’s voice came ragged, the gravity of his broken heart spilling out in a few words and striking straight into Daniel’s heart.

 

Jihoon’s cries came muffled against his shirt, and Daniel’s eyebrows furrow in concern - how could anyone choose someone else over Park Jihoon? Because Daniel - Daniel knew he’d fall in love with  Jihoon in a heartbeat. 

 

_ Maybe he already did. _

 

He puts his arms around Jihoon’s shoulders, enveloping the smaller boy and gently patting his back in a soothing manner as the soft whimpers echoed across the polished gym with just the two of them left inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, the first heartbreak from an unrequited crush AND THE ARRIVAL OF DANIEL'S TIME TO SHINE  
> Up next, Jihoon thinks maybe Daniel's not too bad and Daniel just keeps falling for the pretty ace
> 
> This took much too long to write for some reason - I'm trying to work on the next multichaptered fic but I need to finish this one first! My focus is divided ' n ' 
> 
> Comments and kudos are much appreciated! Still trying to finish this fic before the month ends woop


	4. We Look for Ways to Fly

Jihoon didn’t feel like practicing the next day. 

 

As a matter of fact, he didn’t feel like playing volleyball anymore,  _ ever _ . What was the use of playing and being good at this game when every single time Seongwoo calls out to Minhyun was laced with meaning, every glance the captain threw Seongwoo’s way meant  _ something else _ , and no amount of spikes or quicks or saves could change that.

 

“You suck today,” Woojin simply said as he ran back to court from where he was sitting beside Jihoon on the bleachers. 

 

Normally Jihoon would have responded in an equally snarky fashion, but today he didn’t feel like being here at all. He stood up to exit the gym, mumbling something about not feeling well to Coach Seokhoon. The coach did a quick check on his temperature before noting how downcast Jihoon’s expression was and decided to just let it go, telling Jihoon to drink lots of water and come back as soon as he was feeling better. 

 

The moment he opened the gym door, Jihoon saw yet another face he didn’t want to see today - Kang Daniel. 

 

“Don’t you have to be captain somewhere,” Jihoon muttered as he passed the blonde without a second glance. Daniel was kind enough the day before not to ask too many questions, and even offered to stay with Jihoon until he calmed down - so now Jihoon felt awfully indebted to the taller boy. And he didn’t have any more room in his body to feel anything else but heartbreak at this point in time.

 

“I was worried about you,” Daniel offered, trotting beside Jihoon in his normal bouncy gait. Jihoon only grunted in response, bloodshot eyes still swollen from crying the night before. He had passed it off as some allergy to something he must have eaten, and Daniel was the only other person who knew that it was an allergy to an unrequited love.

 

“Jihoon,” a familiar honey voice called after the two of them, and Daniel didn’t miss the way Jihoon froze, a fresh fall of tears already welling up in his eyes. “Are you okay? Are you feeling sick?” 

 

Minhyun looked worried as he jogged over. 

 

“I’m fine, hyung,” Jihoon couldn’t look at Minhyun, couldn’t risk the captain seeing him crying and asking why - because then the answer would be really clear, and it wasn’t Minhyun’s fault that he didn’t like Jihoon back. 

 

Daniel looks at Jihoon and looks at Minhyun, puts two and two together (because when did Park Jihoon ever refuse to look at his beloved captain), and positions himself between Seoul’s captain and Seoul’s ace to save Jihoon from having to look at Minhyun.

 

“I’m just taking him to the infirmary,” Daniel’s voice surprised Jihoon, because  _ damn it, he did not need to owe Daniel anything else. _ “I was on my way there anyway, and I’m kind of in a rush.” Jihoon felt Daniel’s strong arms on his shoulders, ushering him in the direction of the infirmary. 

 

“Oh, I see,” Minhyun’s voice trailed behind. “Well, I trust you Daniel - please take care of Jihoon for me.” 

 

“I will,” Daniel promised, feeling Jihoon start to wipe away tears that began to fall.

 

*

 

The two boys walked on, past the infirmary, and into a small field that was hidden behind one of the buildings in the facility. Jihoon takes a seat on one of the bleachers, Daniel sitting down beside him.

 

“Hey, I appreciate what you did for me back there and for yesterday, but I’m fine,” Jihoon hopes he didn’t sound as rude as that came out, but he didn’t like being vulnerable and Daniel was practically hovering over him. 

 

“I know,” Daniel played along, even when Jihoon looked like an absolute mess at that moment.  _ But a beautiful mess nonetheless.  _ “I don’t mean to pry but, it’s him, isn’t it?”  

Jihoon pauses for a few seconds before giving a small nod. “I suddenly don’t feel like playing volleyball anymore.” 

 

“What?” Daniel’s voice came loud and scandalized. 

 

“There’s no point in playing this  _ stupid _ game,” Jihoon mumbled, slightly annoyed at Daniel questioning his decisions. “When did being a good spiker ever land anyone a boyfriend, when the water boy could do it in half the time?”

 

“You’re the best player I’ve seen,” Daniel’s voice was rising. “The way you run around the court to receive and spike within the same three touches is crazy.”

 

“And you spiked a zero tempo quick yesterday, nobody in our team could do that! And you jump higher than anyone I’ve ever seen - you move faster than a libero, your digs are impeccable, and I’m pretty sure you could get into national team just by seeing one match you played in.”

 

“All that, and you’re just a freshman,” Daniel ends his impassioned monologue, eyes wistfully trailing down to his own arms, red marks swelling up after one too many hits during their earlier practices. 

 

“You don’t understand,” Jihoon counters, growling defensively.  _ It’s his first heartbreak, can’t Kang Daniel - the Mr. Perfect of Busan - cut him some slack?  _ “Guys like you probably break hearts, not have yours broken.” 

 

The look Daniel throws at Jihoon wasn’t what the younger was expecting - because for once in the few weeks they’ve known each other, Daniel didn’t look like a ball of sunshine. He didn’t look angry, not the least bit annoyed - he looked  _ sad _ .

 

For once, Daniel says  _ nothing _ , only increasing the uneasiness Jihoon already felt at seeing the captain’s expression fall. 

 

It took them a few minutes of silence, and Jihoon stood up to walk over to the vending machine. Daniel didn’t even move an inch. 

 

Jihoon walked back, inwardly cursing at how he had to deal with an overgrown samoyed when he was hell-bent on wallowing the day away and quitting volleyball at this exact instant.

 

“I didn’t mean it,” Jihoon handed over the bottle of water but refused to look directly at Daniel. “I’m just a bit high-strung.”

 

“And rude.” Daniel added after a few seconds, accepting the bottle of water.

 

“Okay, that’s a one time pass to call me out for being an asshole,” Jihoon conceded, taking the seat beside Daniel on the bleachers. He put his elbows on his knees, scanning the empty gym as he sat silently beside Daniel, unsure how to break the tension. 

 

“I couldn’t keep a relationship,” Daniel admitted out of the blue after he gulped half of the water down. Jihoon whipped his head to look back at Daniel, a thousand thoughts racing in his head - Daniel could be a serial datist, a cheating boyfriend,  _ maybe he was a bad kisser?  _

 

“My previous girlfriend broke up with me because she said I loved volleyball more than her,” Daniel tried to smile, but it was different from his regular bright beams. “And damn did it hurt like hell because she was wrong - I loved her more.” 

 

Daniel spun the tricolor ball in his hands before it rested inbetween his palms. 

 

“She just didn’t want to try to understand why I love volleyball.”  

 

Jihoon suddenly felt guilty for assuming that Daniel had it easy. He gave out an uneasy cough before asking, “Why do you love playing volleyball anyway?” 

 

Daniel leaned back and stared up at the sky, looking like he was trying to figure out a math equation rather than answering a personal question before he started chuckling to himself, earning furrowed eyebrows from the younger boy.

 

“I wasn’t even that good at it to begin with,” Daniel laughed. “Jaehwan was infinitely better at me when we started - and I didn’t like it at all because I sucked at saving the ball.”

 

Jihoon leaned forward on his knees to look at how immersed Daniel was with telling the story. How easy it was for someone like him to open up just like this.

 

“So they tried teaching me how to toss because I sucked at blocking, saving, serving, spiking - you name it, I probably couldn’t do it - and I was already a highschool freshman then,” Daniel continued, making wild gestures with his hands as he animatedly narrated his failure. “But that’s when I found out I loved the game - because whenever someone hits my tosses, they always look so  _ happy _ .”

 

“Wait up, so you like tossing - because it makes the spikers happy?” Jihoon raised an eyebrow. It sounded like something only Kang Daniel would say. Jihoon was expecting something along the lines of  _ I want to win, victory is everything, crush the opponents _ , so this was refreshing.

 

“Yes?” Daniel replied, wondering how that was a confusing statement. “From then on I wanted to make sure that I tossed  _ perfectly  _ for whoever was spiking. I wanted them to feel like they could spike without thinking,  _ will I get the ball or not? _ ”

 

Daniel tipped his head over to Jihoon to give him a sincere smile.

 

“I wanted them to say, if I’m with Kang Daniel, I’m  _ invincible _ .”

 

Daniel stretched his legs out a bit, still rolling the tricolor ball in his hands. 

 

“So I worked hard, trained harder than everyone else; nearly broke my knees with all the attempts to serve better, to block higher, to toss to the best of my ability. Because people like me, who don’t have the wings gifted spikers like you have,” Daniel drawled, a comforting southern accent that Jihoon was getting accustomed to, “We look for other ways to fly.”

 

Jihoon stared back at the older boy, feeling a deeper connection and a better understanding of the huge boy he used to hate. And for some reason, being with Kang Daniel lifted his broken heart and made him temporarily forget about his one-sided affections for Hwang Minhyun.

 

Jihoon stood up abruptly, taking the tricolor ball from Daniel’s hands.

 

“Where are you going?” Daniel asked, rising to follow. 

 

“Come on, Kang Daniel,” Jihoon responded, hopping down from the bleachers before looking up at the taller boy. 

 

“Make me feel invincible.”

 

*

 

It was late at night when the two finished rounds of practicing on their own and cleaning up the gym - and Daniel insisted that he wanted to walk Jihoon to the Seoul team’s dorm. 

 

“Aren’t you afraid of ghosts?” Jihoon teased, trying to scare the captain off. 

 

“Tch,” Daniel tried to act nonchalant but was obviously a bit affected by the  _ ghosts _ comment. It seems his determination to take Jihoon to his dorm (on the other wing of the building from the Busan dorm) - made him forget his fears for a few seconds, and now he’s doomed to do the entire trek back all alone.

 

“What if I take you to your dorm instead?” Jihoon smirked, and doubled over laughing when it only took Daniel two seconds to nod his head vigorously. The two did a complete 180 and started heading in the direction of the Busan dorm.

 

“Thanks,” Daniel said in a low voice as they walked the corridor with just Jihoon’s phone flashlight guiding the path. He wanted to look cool in front of the freshman, not act like a child afraid of the dark.

 

“No prob-” Jihoon started to reply, but was interrupted by a clatter by the stairwell - prompting Daniel to scream and put both arms around the smaller boy.

 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Daniel nervously chanted as his fingers squeezed at Jihoon’s hoodie, apologizing to no one in particular; and Jihoon was more affected by the fact that Daniel’s arms were around him than the things that went bump in the night. 

 

Jihoon wanted to laugh at how someone so much bigger than him was this afraid - but Daniel sounded and felt so seriously shaken by this walk that he couldn’t find it in his heart to tease the boy - so he ended up cooing, “I’m here, I’m here, hyung,” while putting an arm around the older’s back and rubbing up and down. 

 

When they got to Daniel’s room, the older boy was flush with embarrassment, managing only a weak, “Thank you, Jihoonie.”

 

Jihoon smiled back, a genuine gratitude on his face when he responded with, “No, thank you, hyung. Thanks for putting things in perspective.”   

 

“You’re a great ace,” Daniel chuckled as he stood at the doorway, all the fearful nervousness form earlier gone. “Soar high because you have wings - don’t let heartbreak get in the way.” Daniel looked Jihoon down almost bashfully, “And maybe you’ll come to love the sport more than the captain.”

 

“But don’t love the game too much that I end up making my future lover jealous?” Jihoon joked, echoing the story Daniel told him about himself.

 

“No, I don’t think that’ll happen to you,” Daniel answered, staring straight at Jihoon’s eyes. “That’s why I don’t want you to quit - because you’re everything I ever wanted to be back then, and you didn’t have to ruin a relationship to get it. Love as much as you want and don’t be afraid.” 

 

Jihoon felt a blush warm his cheeks because he didn’t expect Daniel to be this quick to open up and so wise about matters like this - so he nodded before awkwardly saying, “So goodnight? See you tomorrow.” 

 

“For the record,” Daniel called out when Jihoon started to walk away, eyes trained at his shoes and Jihoon is unable to read his expression in the dim corridor light, “I think Hwang Minhyun’s a fool for missing out on someone as amazing as you.”

 

“Wha-”

 

“What I’m saying is, well, if you, uh,” Daniel tripped over his words as he frantically tried smoothing his plain white t-shirt over his chest, “If - I don’t know - if I were your captain, or rather if you liked me, I wouldn’t - I wouldn’t - I mean he passed up on someone like you and I ah - I wouldn’t. If I were him, I mean.  I would definitely - I’d like you back.” 

 

Jihoon stared at the opposing team’s captain like the latter grew another head that had the literacy of a newborn puppy, but felt a warm flush creeping up his cheeks as he slowly understood Daniel’s meaning amidst the stuttered and broken phrases. 

 

Jihoon’s eyes opened wide and his mouth was starting to open to stutter out a response, but Daniel’s crescent eyes widened faster and he managed to drop a “Well, goodnight then!” before shutting the door closed in Jihoon’s face.

 

Because  _ holy shit _ did he just disaster-confess to the rival team’s ace? 

 

***

 

“I think Kang Daniel likes me,” Jihoon whispers to Woojin in the middle of the night. Guanlin was snoring loudly on the bunk bed on top of their queen size - the lucky maknae got the solo bed on the sole merit of being too tall to bunk beside anyone.

 

Woojin grunts in response, pulling the blanket tighter around his head to shut out the hissing boy beside him. They had to wake up early the next day - it was Jihoon’s fault for staying out late, he didn’t need to jeopardize Woojin’s sleeping hours as well.

 

Jihoon aims a shove on Woojin’s back, earning a muffled yelp and a “ _ what” _ from the younger Park.

 

“I said, I think Kang Daniel lik-” 

 

“Everyone can see that, Jihoon, the boy hovers over you like a mother duck, and begs you to spike like a broken record, why is this only coming to you now,” Woojin’s rapidfire sentences were a result of both his annoyance at being woken up and his disbelief that this was a  _ big deal _ . 

 

“No, no, no,” Jihoon sits up at finally getting someone to listen to the thoughts that had been bouncing in his head since Daniel slammed the door a few minutes earlier. “I think he  _ like _ -likes me.” 

 

Woojin sat up lazily and shoots Jihoon his best  _ are-you-freaking-delusional _ look that would have silenced a lesser being, but Jihoon was Jihoon and he continued, “He  _ attempted  _ to walk me to this room even though he seems like he’s deathly afraid of the dark, and  _ then  _ mumbled some half-assed thing about Minhyun-hyung missing out on me before slamming the door in my face.” 

 

“Whipped,” Woojin muttered.

 

“What?”

 

“That’s what Kang Daniel is,” Woojin answered. “He’s got bad taste in men if he’s fallen for you, but he’s definitely whipped.”

 

Jihoon tried to suppress the smile that was starting to form on his lips as Woojin sank back into his sleeping position.

 

“What is it with you and team captains?” Woojin snickered as he covered his head with the blanket again and faced the wall, deliberately taking up more space than Jihoon on their shared mattress. 

 

“At least it’s not the waterboy,” Jihoon scoffed to himself, lying down and facing away from Woojin, using his back to push the younger further into the wall. He’s surprised at how easy it was to joke about Seongwoo-hyung despite the heartbreak a few days earlier. 

 

That night, his usual dreams about jet-black haired Hwang Minhyun was replaced by a stupid blonde head he was now getting all too familiar with, and a matching pair of bunny teeth smiling at him - and unlike the faraway one-sided crush he had harbored for Hwang Minhyun, in his dreams, Kang Daniel was warm and close. 

 

And for some reason, Jihoon felt a little bit invincible.

 

***

 

The next morning, both teams confusedly entered the volleyball gym - they never entered the gym at the same time, and tensions felt high at the thought of spying on each other’s drills and practices. The unease was defused by the arrival of the two teams’ coaches followed closely by the team captains. 

 

“Good morning teams,” Kahi greeted, and the response from the Busan team was almost Spartan in its enthusiasm. 

 

Jihoon was surprised that he found his eyes gravitating towards the Busan captain rather than his usual fawning over his own team captain. 

 

“We’re having a mixed-match,” Coach Seokhoon announced to the confused faces of both teams, himself and Coach Kahi standing up beside a blackboard and all the Seoul and Busan boys sitting on the wooden floor of the gym. 

 

“We’ve decided to split the team equally, but in the spirit of fairness,” Kahi continued, tapping at the board where she had written Team Hwang and Team Kang split in the middle by a white chalk line. “You can write your name under which setter you want to play with.” 

 

Jihoon felt Kang Daniel’s eyes hopefully look at him and Jihoon tried to look anywhere else - until he felt a nudge against his rib.

 

“So, Park Jihoon,” Woojin whispered while grinning mischievously at his best friend, “Who’s your setter?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for a cheesy chapter, and I hope you weren't expecting Daniel to be all smooth to sweep Jihoon off his feet ; u ;   
> But yes, nothing like a huge dork having a crush on him to distract Jihoon from a little unrequited puppy love!  
> Wanted to let Jihoon wallow a little longer BUT NOPE JIHOON U PICK URSELF BACK UP AND FALL INTO A MUTUAL CRUSH bec i need fluff to start happening
> 
> Thinking of extending into 6 chapters? But let's see how the fifth chapter turns out!   
> Please leave comments and kudos, they are really appreciated and motivate me to keep writing and finish this :)   
> (and leave them for all the other nw authors whose work you enjoy~! ENCOURAGE THEM TO KEEP WRITING BECAUSE THIS IS THE ONLY TAG THAT SUSTAINS US IN THE DROUGHT) 
> 
> See you next update!


	5. From the Other Side

“Boys, seriously,” Kahi slapped her forehead with a palm, her other hand on her hip as she stared the division of the teams down. “We might as well have made it a prefinal match if all of you just pick your captain.” 

 

Majority of the Seoul boys immediately listed themselves down to play in Minhyun’s team, while the Busan boys did likewise in Daniel’s favor - leaving only the last four players left to choose before Kahi called them out. 

 

Seokhoon offered a weak smile as he called out the next name, “Park Woojin?” 

 

“Seoul! I mean, Hwang!” Woojin screeched before jogging over to his cheering teammates on the left side of the court. 

 

“Kim Jaehwan?”

 

“Hw-K-HwW-Kkk-KANG,” the playful Busan ace teetered in between the two captains’ names before finally running over to the Busan side and giving Daniel a high-five. 

 

“Lai Guanlin?” 

 

“Hwang!” the youngest blocker awkwardly smiled as he scratched at his neck while walking towards Minhyun, who was smiling in return. It was really turning out to be a Seoul versus Busan match.

 

“And lastly - Park Jihoon,” Seokhoon read out the last player who hadn’t chosen a side yet, and all eyes turned to Jihoon - who was nervously fidgeting with his jersey. 

“I, ah- I pick,” Jihoon mumbled uselessly, blood rushing up his ears as the pressure mounted and the eyes trained on him refused to blink, both teams awaiting the decision of the freshman ace. “I think I’ll go with-”

 

Jihoon’s eyes skipped between Minhyun - all kind smile and gentle eyes, and Daniel - who looked like he was going to combust any minute.

 

Daniel was dreading this moment - as a matter of fact, he was on edge since he bade Jihoon goodnight a few hours back; because now he was tremendously aware of how bad his little innocent crush on Park Jihoon had become.

 

At first, he thought that he simply admired the boy’s skill and his prodigious moves in court - but after the photoshoot, the random encounters in the corridors, that night when he saw Jihoon’s heart break before his very eyes, and the way Jihoon laughed when they were practicing sets yesterday like playing fun games with the rival team member was the most natural thing to do a few weeks before the national finals - Daniel knew that there was no turning back.

 

He was head over heels in love with the pretty-eyed spiker. 

 

Jaehwan had already made fun of him last night after completely hearing the awkward farewell to Jihoon. 

  
  


*

  
  


“I can’t believe you actually fell for that brat?” Jaehwan laughed as Daniel tried to attack his friend and cover that loud mouth with both hands. “Honestly, Daniel - you hit him on the face with a serve, and he steals your heart as payback.” 

 

Daniel had tackled Jaehwan then - because if he didn’t shut the ace up, the whole dorm would know, and then the coaches would know, and then the entire Seoul team would know, and then he’d have to explain on national television that he wasn’t going to let a silly crush get in the way of the national tournament.

 

“He likes someone else,” Daniel huffed, throwing a pillow directly at Jaehwan’s face. 

 

“Or  _ liked _ someone else,” Jaehwan answered. “Jihoonie was blushing almost as red as you when I saw his face through the door.” 

 

“Was he?” Daniel sprung up enthusiastically, pressing into Jaehwan to get him to say more as a wide smile broke out on his face.

 

“Nope, I didn’t see, it was dark out,” Jaehwan laughed riotously again, earning yet another pillow thrown at his face. “But judging by your reaction - you better not let this crush get in the way of the competition.” 

 

“I won’t,” Daniel pouted, throwing off his clothes and putting on pajamas. “It’s our last year and we need to win. But I do hope I get to play with him in the future.”

 

Daniel pulled the covers over himself to try to clear his head and calm his heart down - and he hears Jaehwan chanting childishly, “Daniel and Jihoon sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.” Daniel tried ignoring the sound but found that a smile was tugging at his lips.

 

But Jaehwan continued, “First comes a service ace, then comes a really bad confession from Kang Daniel, then comes-”

 

Daniel threw a book at his friend’s head. 

  
  


*

 

“Damn it, Jihoon, you’re last pick,” someone from the Seoul team shouted, earning some snickers from everyone in the court. “Make up your mind already!”

 

Daniel wanted Jihoon to pick him, but let that hope die in his chest because Jihoon’s eyes were glaring at his own team. After all, why would Jihoon pick to be on the same team as the enemy? Who was Kang Daniel anyway? Some random captain who was afraid of the dark and couldn’t string two sentences together?

 

“Alright, fine, I’ll-” Jihoon started, before getting cut short by Jaehwan’s ridiculously loud shout.

 

“Coach!” Jaehwan whined, holding on to his stomach and bouncing up and down. “I think, I think I won’t be able to play today.”

 

Kahi rolled her eyes. She was so used to Jaehwan’s theatrics that this didn’t even earn a raised eyebrow. “Let me guess, Jaehwannie - too much food yesterday?” 

 

The entire Busan team erupted in laughter, and even the Seoul team had to stifle their giggles. “Can Park Jihoon take my place?” Jaehwan continued when the laughter had died down, and made a show of having to go to the toilet immediately.

 

Daniel shot a glance at his friend, who quickly met his eyes and threw him an exaggerated wink. Daniel made a mental note to buy Jaehwan free lunch for a week, because not many friends would feign diarrhea just to get the rival team’s ace to play with their team.  _ Not that it was a common dilemma for anyone to have. _

 

“Are you okay with that, Jihoon?” Seokhoon turned his eyes to the freshman spiker, who had eyes open in mild surprise.

 

Daniel looks at Jihoon and holds his breath - because Jihoon had every right to say no. This whole  _ will he-won’t he _ rollercoaster was making Daniel more nervous than if he were playing a tournament.

 

But his worries were unfounded when Jihoon started taking a few steps in his direction, earning several  _ oooohs  _ from his own home team. Was Jihoon finally giving in to Daniel’s dogged determination? Was Jihoon about to hit a toss from someone who wasn’t Minhyun?

 

“Let’s play,” Jihoon smirked, walking over to Daniel and raising a hand for a high-five before leaning in to whisper, “Don’t make me look bad,  _ Captain. _ ”

 

“Definitely,” Daniel breathed in relief, meeting Jihoon’s hand mid-air.

  
  


*

  
  


It was a disaster. 

 

Jihoon didn’t think that playing the same sport with a completely different team was going to be difficult - after all, it’s the same three touches and the same positions they had to play. But the Busan team played like a bunch of maniacs; very much unlike the calm and methodical way Minhyun commanded the Seoul team. 

 

Their young professor, Jisung, was screeching from the bleachers - obviously exasperated at how the team played.

 

It’s not that they were bad - hell, no, Team Kang was actually  _ leading  _ \- but the sheer amount of wildcard moves confused Jihoon to no end. 

 

Whenever the ball gets saved and goes into Daniel’s hands for a toss, everyone lunges forward, each one hungry for a spike. Seoul’s poor blockers had nowhere to focus their defense, not when it seemed to be  _ anyone’s _ spike - only for Daniel to dump the ball into the Team Hwang court instead of tossing it to anyone else.

 

The entire Busan team hooted at their captain’s quick reflexes, and Jihoon pouted visibly, glaring once again at the back of Daniel’s head.

 

“Jihoon, you’re being a useless spy!” Woojin called from the endline of the other half of the court, earning snickers from the other boys.

 

“I’m trying, but my new captain won’t set to me,” Jihoon shouted back, making sure Daniel heard it.

 

“Jihoonie, I’m still your captain,” Minhyun called from the bleachers, laughing good-naturedly. 

 

The Jihoon of two days ago would have blushed profusely and felt like he was on Cloud 9 for catching the attention of Minhyun - but today...today he was hell-bent on getting a toss from Kang Daniel. He was about to respond with an  _ aye, aye, captain!  _ to Minhyun’s teasing but was cut short-

 

“He’s mine today, Hwang Minhyun!” Daniel joined in the playful banter, although his call out was tinged with jealousy. Another round of  _ ooh _ ’s erupted from Team Hwang and even Team Kang had the common sense to whistle at the taunt.

 

Daniel walks over to Jihoon when the two teams did a change-court after a set awarded to Team Kang. Jihoon was now positioned conveniently to his right for a perfect toss, and Daniel leans in against his ear.

 

“When are you letting me spike,” Jihoon squinted his eyes at the taller boy.

 

“Just trust me,” Daniel licks his lips, hoping he could pass off the flushed cheeks and the fast heartbeat as a natural result of playing volleyball, and not because he was playing alongside the boy of his dreams.

 

“Just toss to me,” Jihoon challenged, feeling heat creep up his cheeks as well because Daniel was a fun ball of sunshine outside the court, but inside it - he was ruthlessly quick and intensely competitive.

 

All in all, overwhelmingly  _ attractive _ .

Jihoon shakes his head because  _ no, he did not just check out the boy who was his mortal enemy just a week ago. _

 

Seokhoon blows the whistle and the second set begins - only now, Kang Daniel was insistent on tossing only to Jihoon. The younger runs around faster, feints and fakes around the court as the perfect decoy, even managed to save rogue balls that were incorrectly received - earning the respect and fear of the Busan team members. 

 

Despite everything Jihoon could do well - he frustratingly misses all the tosses thrown by Daniel, and Team Kang loses the second set to Team Hwang.  _ I’m doing everything exactly like how I did it with Minhyun-hyung, _ Jihoon thinks, mussing up his hair in exasperation.  _ I was able to hit this once, why can’t I do it now? _

 

“Hey, Captain,” one of the wing spikers called out. “Just because Seoul’s ace is good, doesn’t mean he’s the entire team.” 

 

Jihoon feels his ears burn red because that was a direct jab at his skills as a spiker, and Daniel grows self-conscious of his newfound Jihoon favoritism. 

 

“Sorry,” Daniel bows to his teammates. “Was trying something out.”

 

“The zero tempo quick again?” Jisung approaches the team as he helps them strategize. “Not even Jaehwan can hit that quick, what makes you think Mr. Park over here who has only played with us a few sets can hit that?” 

 

“I can,” Jihoon pipes up. He felt like a spy in the midst of the Busan team - but he was on Team Kang, this wasn’t a finals match, and Jihoon burned with the intensity of the desire to show them all that he’s the best spiker in the game that he  _ loves. _

 

“He can do it,” Daniel jumped in to defend the non-team member, and suddenly, Jihoon wanted to hit the spike not just for volleyball, not just for himself, but also for Kang Daniel - who looked like he’d trust Jihoon with his own life.

 

Jisung shoots a lingering look between the two, eyebrows raised at this sudden closeness between them, but waves his pen and proceeded to give feedback to the other members of the team.

 

Jihoon pulls Daniel to the side, tugging at the older boy’s shirt to get him to his eye level. 

 

“I’m sorry, I was trying to do it the Minhyun-hyung way,” Jihoon whispered, eyes darting to the Seoul team on the other side. 

 

Daniel felt his eyebrows furrow at hearing the name from Jihoon’s lips, a little spark of jealousy building up - only to be immediately extinguished. 

 

“But it was the  _ Kang Daniel way _ that worked for me the other day,” Jihoon beamed up at him and offered a fist. “I’m yours.” 

 

Daniel grinned, meeting Jihoon’s fist with his own. “I’ll make sure you fly higher than you ever have.”

 

*

 

The countdown ticked on the electronic scoreboard near the gym ceiling, signaling the last few rallies - if Team Hwang scores another point, Team Kang had to catch up. Daniel used the back of his hand to wipe the sweat from his jaw, legs crouched low as his arms were prepared to receive. The entire team was fatigued at this point after intense rallies between the two teams, several players already bruised at the dangerous digs they had to do and some blockers already stretching out their taped fingers - and Hwang Minhyun was on service. The score was tied, and Daniel hadn’t tossed a zero tempo quick to Park Jihoon yet.

 

Minhyun’s serve was elegance and grace and brutal precision - a strong hit traversing all the way to tiptoe dangerously at the endline, and the entire Kang Team gasped at the imminent loss - only to have Park Jihoon’s arm save the ball at exactly the last second.

 

“It’s up!” Jihoon shouts, hoping the Busan boys still had their wits about them. 

 

“Not now,  _ Jeojang _ !” someone from the Seoul team cried out, using Jihoon’s old team nickname. “Stop saving and just let Minhyun-hyung win!” 

 

“I’m not losing,” Jihoon bites back mischievously at his Seoul teammate. Daniel’s eyes register how Jihoon sprang back up and ran back to his position beside him, as he tossed to a wing spiker for a perfect kill. 

 

Busan now led by one point; and they only needed one more to win - and it was their service. Daniel prepped himself at the endline, bouncing the ball a few times before getting into position - he could end this game with one good service ace. 

 

“Win it,” Jihoon called out, and Daniel nodded his head. 

 

He tosses the ball high, runs low to meet it where he can hit it hardest - and delivers one of his best serves throughout the game. He thinks he has it in the bag - mixed feelings at the impending victory and the fact that he wasn’t able to do a zero tempo quick with Park Jihoon - until Seoul’s libero Park Woojin dives and gets the ball up, and it perfectly lands in Minhyun’s line of sight. He feels time slow down as Minhyun raises his arms to toss, a wing spiker on their team ready to hit it in a place where no blockers were available, and Daniel’s reflexes force him to scurry over to that side of the court.

 

Only he reads it wrong, and Minhyun tosses to another wing spiker. Daniel’s eyes widened - he had left his position open. The ball crashes down in a strong spike-

 

Only to be saved yet again by Park Jihoon at the endline. 

 

The ball goes up, and Daniel’s feet immediately take him to his position at the center of the court - and he is vaguely aware of Jihoon rising back up and running behind him, taking the place of one of the wing spikers who was temporarily distracted.

 

The sounds around him were a blur, and only one voice cut through clear as day - 

 

“Now, Kang Daniel!” 

 

Jihoon jumps up, eyes closed, the last reserves of his strength pushed into pulling his arm back and preparing to hit. Daniel didn’t have time to think, didn’t have time to hesitate - he only had time to make sure that his toss landed directly in Jihoon’s line of attack-

 

FWISH.

 

BLAM.

 

The court is silenced as the ball lands on the other side of the court, meeting no resistance because it was just that  _ unexpected _ . 

 

Team Kang won, but everyone was too shocked to cheer - because Kang Daniel and Park Jihoon just won the set with a zero tempo quick.

Jihoon feels the familiar sting on his palm, looks up at Daniel who was equally as surprised, and his thoughts race back to how he believed that zero tempo quicks can only be done when you were entirely in sync with your setter. 

 

And before he knew it, he hears shouts of victory and shock and feels Kang Daniel’s arms wrapped tight around him.

 

*

 

“I still can’t believe you finally hit a zero tempo,” Minhyun says for the nth time as the Seoul boys prepared to enter the bus. It was the last day of the training camp, and everyone had to go home. “I told you you’d learn a thing or two from playing with another setter.” 

 

“I was shocked myself,” Jihoon answered - still surprised that he was talking with Hwang Minhyun like the older boy hadn’t shattered his puppy love a few days back. “But thank you, Minhyun-hyung.” 

 

“For what?” Minhyun asked, hopping up the bus and looking back at Jihoon who was the last one to get on. 

 

“Things,” Jihoon replied vaguely, preparing to climb up. “And congratulations to you and Seongwoo-hyung.”

 

Minhyun’s face rarely betrayed extreme emotion, but the look he gave Jihoon was positively scandalized as the tips of his ears burned ruby red. “W-wh-what?” 

 

“Oh, come on, hyung,” Jihoon waves his hand. “Everyone knows.”

 

“Everyone?” Minhyun repeated, before hearing someone call him from within the bus.

 

Jihoon chuckled as he started climbing up the bus, only to be stopped by a familiar screeching voice coming from a short distance.

 

“Ya, Kang Daniel, get back here!” Jaehwan screams from the other side of the driveway. 

 

“It’ll take a minute!” Daniel hollered back, before standing innocently in front of the Seoul bus’ door.

 

“Daniel-hyung,” Jihoon turns around and hops back down onto the pavement, clutching his backpack tighter. He tried to avoid the Busan captain after their celebration dinner last night, because he was starting to like having the older boy around and he was afraid that he might not be able to say goodbye if he had to.

 

“Goodbye?” Daniel pants, looking down at Jihoon quizzically. 

 

“No goodbyes,” Jihoon licks his lips as he tries to avoid Daniel’s eyes and tried to make the mood lighter. “How about,  _ I’ll crush you in court next week _ ?”

 

“I was, I was thinking more along the lines of,” Daniel stuttered, looking down at his hand where he had hastily scribbled a note to read out. Jaehwan had talked him into this, Jisung had given his blessing, all he needed was for his big mouth to actually not screw up.

 

“Park Jihoon, will you go out with me after the finals?”

 

Jihoon stared up at him like he said something terribly wrong, and they stood in silence for a few awkward beats - Daniel grinning awkwardly with his two front teeth making a fine appearance.

 

The smaller boy almost betrayed no emotion - except his entire face looked red. _Anger?_ _Rage? Judgmental annoyance?_

 

Daniel licked his lips and tried again, “That might have come out wrong, what I wanted to say was-”

 

“Maybe,” Jihoon cut the babbling captain short, eyes still wide in shock. “My answer is maybe. Beat me in court at the finals, and it’s a yes?” 

 

Jihoon didn’t think he’d be saying it but the words tumbled out of his mouth. He was only so glad that none of his teammates had to hear this.

 

Daniel stared at him for a while longer before easing into one of his wide smiles. 

 

“I see,” Daniel replied, shoving his hands into his pockets and trying to memorize Park Jihoon’s features - thing he won’t be able to see for the next few days. “ _ I’ll crush you in court next week _ , then.”

 

“Likewise. And Daniel-hyung?” Jihoon grinned as he climbed up the bus. “I was going to choose your team even if Jaehwan-hyung didn’t get a stomachache.”

 

Jihoon laughed at the wide-eyed expression on Daniel’s face as the bus door closed.

  
  
  


“Were you making googly-eyes at Kang Daniel?” Woojin whispered when Jihoon took his seat beside his best friend and the bus sped off.  “Because that’s disgusting. And here I thought I had developed a tolerance for your speeches on how perfect Minhyun-hyung is, now I have to deal with your love poems for the huge Busan guy.”

 

“I do not make googly-eyes at  _ anyone _ ,” Jihoon scoffed, stepping on his friend’s foot. “My eyes are just  _ naturally alluring _ .”

 

“Well, just make sure your  _ alluring eyes _ show no mercy to Kang Daniel next week.”

 

“When have I ever lost anything?” Jihoon answered, plugging in an earphone to hide the guilt.

 

Because somehow, he sort-of? kind-of?  _ maybe _ ? thought it was okay to lose this time. 

 

Just by a bit. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All hail Kim Jaehwan, president of the NW ship! I was stuck at the doctor's clinic for a few hours this afternoon so was able to write this up :>
> 
> I've decided to add a last chapter and an epilogue! Thank you to the readers who are enjoying so far~  
> Wasn't able to read through so might contain some typos and grammar errors? Might edit after a while :3 
> 
> Work is starting to get busy so I hope to still finish this fic before the month ends.  
> As always, kudos and comments are much appreciated (and really I'm not kidding when i say it motivates me to write faster!) 
> 
> Until the next update!!!  
> (If you want to shout at me or just say hi, you can do so over [@cheesehoonie](http://www.twitter.com/cheesehoonie) on Twitter :D)


	6. Victories and Losses

Daniel breathes heavily in the locker room - his teammates all putting on an extra air of bravado to conceal the nervousness they were all feeling at the pit of their stomachs; and nobody more than the seniors were feeling the pressure. 

 

Busan High School had always teetered on the edge of making it as the national volleyball champion: Daniel could remember how he and Jaehwan were the only fresh recruits for the team during their first year - how the team had the passion but not the talent (Daniel was a late bloomer as a setter and wasn’t prepared for the tournaments when they started), and the farthest they got was the regional tournament. 

 

What stuck the most was how the seniors looked completely devastated by the loss: only to impart the words that Daniel hung on to for the rest of his games.

 

And now Daniel sat there, a chance to take home the trophy and bring pride to all the captains that came before him and the team that valiantly played alongside him. 

 

“Ready?” Jaehwan’s usually chatty pre-match persona was nowhere to be found, and Daniel found himself hugging his best friend. 

 

“I’m terrified, Jaehwannie,” he mumbled. “But I can’t let the team see that.”

 

“You’re right, bad for morale,” Jaehwan managed to make light of the situation, but hugged Daniel back tightly. “If anyone asks why we’re hugging, let’s pretend you were confessing to me and I rejected you because I’m way out of your league.”

 

This gets a smile out of Daniel and he slaps Jaehwan’s back. “You can’t reject this face,” he smiles. 

 

“I can’t, but Park Jihoon can,” Jaehwan reminds, taking Daniel’s arm in a firm handshake. 

 

***

 

Daniel intended to be all-out fierce when he walked out into the bright stadium - the cheers of half the crowd crescendoing into a roar as the announcer called out positions. 

 

_ “Busan Number 1, Kang Daniel!”  _

 

_ “Busan Number 2, Kim Jaehwan!”  _

 

Daniel jogged lightly in place as he waited for his team to all come in and they could start warming up; he could feel the cameras rolling and was wondering what the commentators had to say about this match. 

 

Powerhouse Seoul battling it out with surprise finalist Busan? Kang Daniel and Hwang Minhyun, setter vs setter? New freshmen aces to watch out for?

 

Daniel sets basic tosses as the rest of his team practice their volleys - and the Seoul team started getting announced. Daniel told himself not to look up, this will break his concentration, but he couldn’t help it when the announcer declared the entrance of the boy he hasn’t seen in a week.

 

_ “Seoul Number 2, Park Jihoon!” _

 

The Seoul crowd roars and Daniel could feel himself getting a little jealous - because heaven knows he wanted to be cheering as well. He contents himself with glancing over at the huge screen where the camera was broadcasting to - and he’s temporarily struck by how Jihoon looks completely confident under the gym lights.

 

Daniel stares for a few moments, until suddenly the face on the camera was no longer Jihoon’s but his own face, smiling like an idiot. He quickly drops his gaze before the screen can register the blush coming up his cheeks.

 

He vaguely hears some commentator saying,  _ it looks like Kang Daniel is eyeing the newcomer freshman like a formidable threat _ , and all he can think of is how Jihoon is a threat to his cardiac health with that breathtaking face. 

 

***

 

Jihoon covers his face with both hands as he sees Daniel’s face suddenly register on the stadium screen. To hide his laugh or to hide a blush he can’t tell - it has always been a reflex of his to cover his face when he feels  _ something.  _

 

Something heart-fluttering in this case.

 

“You’re unbelievable,” Woojin sighs beside him as the libero comes in at number 10. 

 

“I’m not doing anything!” Jihoon knits his eyebrows as the two run out for some practice volleys. 

 

“Just promise me you’ll give your future boyfriend hell before he actually becomes a boyfriend,” Woojin deadpans as they line up for Minhyun’s tosses.

 

“Are you trying to insinuate that I’ll go easy on him? Because I have never gone easy on an opponent,” Jihoon scoffs, spiking the ball before running under the net to the other side of the court.

 

“No opponent has ever asked you for a date if they beat you,” Woojin replied, chasing after Jihoon after a failed spike. He insists that playing his position is more important than learning to be good at spiking. “And besides, you don’t have to impress captain Hwang anymore, what’s your motivation to win?”

 

Jihoon hits Woojin on the shoulder. Ever since the end of the training camp, Jihoon realized that he wanted to improve not because he wanted to prove himself to Minhyun, he trained because he was starting to see why he loved the sport so much. He loved the feeling of jumping in the air, loved the feeling of an incredible save despite the bruises, and loved the thrill of victory. 

 

It was as if he was able to fly without wings - and he never saw that when he was just some boy with a weird obsession with the team captain. 

  
And to think that a rival team captain would be the one to get him to realize this.

 

Jihoon simply shakes his head. “You underestimate how competitive I am, Woojin.” 

 

“That’s what I wanted to hear,” Woojin grins as the whistle blows to start the first set. 

 

***

 

_ Busan 02 - 02 Seoul _

 

The two teams have been playing an intense head-to-head match, and almost an hour in there were no signs of anyone giving up just yet. 

 

Daniel wipes the sweat from his brow because he didn’t expect the match to last this long. They usually played in sets of three - and the best-of-five match was taking its toll on everyone’s stamina. 

 

Jaehwan wasn’t getting into position as fast, the wing spikers were failing to act as decoy - even his tosses were starting to get a little sloppy. The coach had benched him during the third set and sent in a new setter, leading to a Seoul win. 

 

“Okay boys, let’s take a break,” Kahi was trying to keep her cool as she pointed on the board, assigning a new strategy they can use to shock Seoul for the final set. Daniel’s heart is beating fast - too fast, and it’s not because of the strain of the exercise. 

 

He’s only got this one last chance to win, and then who knows if he will continue playing volleyball into college. 

 

“Daniel?” 

 

He distantly hears the voice of his coach and barely feels the arm Jaehwan throws around him - because he’s tired, his muscles are starting to cramp up, but he cannot afford to sit another minute out. 

 

“Daniel!” 

 

“Y-y-yes, coach?” 

 

“You’ve been zoning out,” Kahi looks at him worriedly, and he feels a little guilty. The captain was supposed to be bringing up morale, not worrying the coach.

 

“I’m fine coach,” he replies, his voice hoarse and he has to cough a bit to clear it out. “I’m fine.”

 

“Take a toilet break,” Kahi says after a short pause. “Clear your head for a minute and then come back.” 

 

Daniel nods, and runs out quickly - because the bright lights and the loud cheers in the stadium were beginning to choke him. 

 

***

 

“You’re all great out there today,” Minhyun panted, bringing up a towel to wipe his neck. “Woojin, we need you back in as libero.” 

 

“Yes, captain!” 

 

“Minhyun, can you sit this one out first? Seongwoo can try setting for the first half of the set,” Seokhoon chimed in. 

 

“Seongwoo hasn’t trained enough,” Minhyun replies reluctantly, throwing a meaningful look at his teammate. As much as he loved Seongwoo, he was objective enough to know that he wasn’t a game-winning setter. 

 

“Minhyunnie,” Seongwoo puts a hand on his shoulder, “I can do it.”

 

When Minhyun still looks unconvinced, Jihoon chirps in, “I’ve practiced some quicks with Seongwoo-hyung, he’s great.” 

 

Jihoon wonders when he started to acknowledge that the waterboy actually had potential (but none of the stamina), and he’s glad he tried playing with Ong Seongwoo as setter - because Minhyun was right, you learn a lot more when you spiked from other players.

 

“I’m good enough to play until you’re rested,” Seongwoo nods gratefully at Jihoon, and Minhyun relents. 

 

“I trust in you,” Minhyun squeezes Seongwoo’s hand on his shoulder - and the team snickers, relieving some of the tension they were all feeling. “And Jihoon - fly high.” 

 

Jihoon nods. He had been running around the court, stamina almost gone and legs barely able to jump as high as during the first few sets. He feels bruises starting to blossom on his shoulders where he had taken some bad form in saving the ball - but he was determined to see this game through. 

 

He may no longer feel romantically for Hwang Minhyun, but he wanted to make sure his captain left his final year with a victory. 

 

He just wishes that both teams can win. At the corner of his eye, he spots the familiar blonde head and black-and-gold jersey running out towards the locker rooms. 

 

“Coach,” Jihoon says, bouncing on his heels despite the short energy reserves. “Can I take a quick toilet break?”

 

“Really,  _ now _ , Jihoon?” Seokhoon raised an eyebrow but waves Jihoon off. “Hurry!” 

 

***

 

“Captain!” Jihoon calls to Daniel, who stops by the vending machines in front of the boy’s washroom. The corridor was deserted - no doubt that everyone was inside the stadium, pumped with adrenaline at the impending final set.

 

Daniel freezes in his steps, and Jihoon is surprised by the tense nod he got versus the usual cheery greeting. Not that he should have been expecting a warm greeting from a rival captain who must be at the end of his wits.

 

“Jihoon,” Daniel’s voice was low, and Jihoon sees that his hands are trembling. 

 

“Are you-are you okay?” Jihoon takes one of Daniel’s hands and tries to rub it between his to ease the shaking. 

 

“I’m alri-” Daniel starts, but feels his resolve crumble when he looks Jihoon in the eyes. “I’m terrified.” 

 

Jihoon throws a tender look at Daniel and reaches out to put both his hands on the boy’s cheek, wiping off some sweat with the back of his hand. 

 

“You’re doing great, hyung,” Jihoon smiles, hoping to calm down the captain. “You’re giving me a hard time.” 

 

Daniel feels his heartbeat calming down, and his world starting to get back into focus. And all he could see in front of him was Park Jihoon smiling. 

 

“You told me before that you loved the game, right?” Jihoon continued, comforting passes of his thumb running up and down Daniel’s cheek. “Your teammates have been spiking nonstop, and they all appreciate you setting to them.”

 

“I don’t want to lose,” Daniel voices out his worries, then wonders if he’s saying too much and looking too vulnerable in front of the opposing team’s spiker - when suddenly, Jihoon takes him into a hug. 

 

And his heart starts beating wildly again. 

 

“You made me realize why you love this game, and why I love it too,” Jihoon says comfortingly against his shoulder, and Daniel suddenly tunes out all the noise. “Never forget the reason why you play, and give it your all.” 

 

Daniel returns the hug and grasps tightly at Jihoon’s jersey. He didn’t expect comfort to come at this time from such an unlikely person, and he’s surprised that Jihoon could both push his pressure limits in court and calm his heart down and comfort him outside it. 

 

“Ew, you’re drenched with sweat,” Daniel tries to lighten up the situation as he gets his bearings back. 

 

Jihoon pushes back at him and reaches up to flick at his forehead. “You’re disgustingly wet, too, if you haven’t noticed,” he whines and backs off, pouting as he makes to walk back into the stadium. There’s a thin layer of pink on his cheeks as he walked backwards. “Next time I’ll just let you panic in your sweaty jersey.” 

 

“Wait,” Daniel reaches out and grabs at Jihoon’s wrist, pulling the boy slightly backward. Jihoon’s eyes widen in shock as he feels Daniel’s lips pressing a kiss against his forehead. 

 

“Just in case I can’t get to do that after the match,” Daniel smiles, intertwining his fingers with Jihoon’s own as he leads them back into the stadium. “Once we step in there, I’ll be your worst enemy.”

 

Jihoon grins. “No mercy in court for you, Kang Daniel.” 

 

***

 

_ BLAM. _

 

The sound of the ball hitting the ground was followed by the buzzer that rang clear across the stadium - and Daniel looks up from his failed save on the ground, Jaehwan likewise on the ground beside him. Both of them missed reading the signs, and the ball just barely went in as Park Jihoon’s hand grazed it in after a scrape with the top of the net. 

 

“Seoul High School is the national champion!” the commentator shouts into the microphone, and the entire Seoul crowd goes berserk. 

 

Jihoon is looking down at Daniel, face wide in shock at their victory, and Daniel is unsure how to feel. Because as much as he wants to run over and congratulate Jihoon because that was one hell of a match, the drop in his stomach at the loss was keeping him from moving.

 

He sees Jihoon lock eyes with him as the younger boy is dragged by his team into a celebratory circle, and soon Jihoon is being lifted up by his ecstatic teammates. 

 

Daniel buries his head on the floor and feels tears roll down his cheeks, and he hears Jaehwan whimpering beside him as well.

 

There were always winners and there were always losers in every game. He just wishes he could have won it for his team.

 

*

 

“I’m sorry,” Daniel mumbles as the entire Busan team shuffles into the locker room. He’s biting back tears but it’s betrayed by the break in his voice. He lifts up his shirt to wipe at his eyes. “I’ve let all of you down.”

 

Jaehwan was still sniffling beside him, also trying his best not to cry in front of the underclassmen and failing. 

 

The younger ones were no different - there wasn’t a dry eye in the Busan locker room. Jisung especially.

 

“We’re okay, captain,” one of the sophomores cut in. “We’re not crying because we didn’t think everyone did their best.”

 

“We’re crying because we don’t get to play with you and Jaehwan-hyung anymore,” another voice piped in. 

 

“We wanted to win for our seniors,” yet another voice added, and Daniel looked up to see the appreciative faces of his teammates. 

 

Victory was one thing - but his team was another. And at least he had the latter.

 

“Thank you,” Daniel mutters, and he feels a new set of tears threatening to spill out as he pulls in the Busan team for a group hug. “And don’t you all worry, Jaehwan and I can still play with you even after we graduate.”

 

“You’re the best setter I’ve ever played with,” Jaehwan manages out and puts an arm around Daniel. 

 

“You’re the best...friend I’ve ever played with,” Daniel replies, careful with his words. Jaehwan was a brilliant spiker, but Park Jihoon was perfection. 

 

“It’s just too bad that you can’t take out that Seoul ace on a date,” Jisung suddenly broke the moment.

 

“Wh-what?” Daniel lifts his head up, and glares at Jaehwan, who had wiped away enough tears to start laughing.

 

“Come on, captain, you’re a bad liar,” one of the freshmen answered, earning a laugh from the team. “Everyone knows.”  

  
  


*

 

When the Busan team had packed up, Daniel walks out of the locker room to see Jihoon waiting with his back against the wall. 

 

“Condolences, cap,” Jaehwan whispers as he runs after the rest of the team. 

 

When the Busan team had thrown enough teasing looks at Daniel, they all ran outside to load into the waiting bus. 

 

“Jihoon,” Daniel greets. “Sorry for that.”

 

“It’s fine,” Jihoon answers, pushing his back off the wall to walk Daniel slowly in the direction of the empty corridor with the vending machines. 

 

“Shouldn’t you be celebrating with your team?” Daniel realizes, and looks around to check if Jihoon had been left behind by their bus.

 

“No, they’re waiting for me in the locker room, I asked for a few minutes to talk with my future date,” Jihoon grins mischievously and Daniel blanks out for a moment. Did he hear that correctly?  _ Date? _

 

“But I - we, we lost,” Daniel mumbles. 

 

Jihoon puts both hands on his hips and sighs before leaning over to put Daniel’s face in between his hands. “You lost, so I say ‘no’ to  _ you _ taking  _ me _ out on a date.” 

 

Daniel’s face visibly falls, and Jihoon tries to stifle a giggle. “No need to rub it in,” the older boy pouts, adjusting the bag on his back. 

 

“But now, I would like to assert winner’s rights and take  _ you _ out on a date,” Jihoon grins, enjoying the surprised expression on Daniel’s face. The boy couldn’t hide any emotion at all. “If you still want it.”

 

“Wha-what?” Daniel stutters out, ears turning red at the sudden turn of events.

 

“Win or lose, it’s you I choose,” Jihoon whispers, pulling in Daniel for a kiss. 

 

Daniel’s eyes open wide in shock for a few moments before he smiles into the kiss and puts both arms around the younger. Park Jihoon was driving him crazy - the boy was both his downfall and his comfort. His volleyball future may be uncertain right now, but at least he knew he’d enjoy watching Jihoon’s games.

 

He’s about to pull Jihoon in even closer when they’re interrupted by a polite cough and a low voice saying, “Kang Daniel?” 

 

Jihoon jumps away immediately and smooths out his jersey as he tries to run like a criminal, but Daniel takes his hand and holds it tight. 

 

“Yes?” Daniel answers the man in the suit.

 

“I’m from the national sports commission,” the man replied, handing a card to Daniel. “We’d like to recruit you and Kim Jaehwan for the national team.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just the epilogue and we're done with this!!!
> 
> Hoping to wrap everything up by tomorrow :3 Thank you to everyone who has left kudos/comments so far, I hope you enjoyed this fluff story ;;;;;  
> It was written on a whim but I'm thankful I managed to squeeze out enough plot out of it...I think
> 
> Didn't want to write the entire match so I hope it didn't feel rushed? Wanted to focus on the main charas for this chapter :D  
> I'll do a double-check for typos tomorrow (uploaded this right before bed so I wasn't able to proofread)!
> 
> As always, I'm very thankful for feedback and hope you could let me know what you think about the story ' 3 '


	7. He's My Setter

Daniel doesn’t know what kind of date he’s expecting - but it certainly wasn’t this one. 

 

If he had it his way, they would be going to the theme park and ending the evening with a ride on the ferris wheel; or they would go to the cinemas and he would hold Jihoon’s hand through the scary parts; or they would take a walk along the river with their fingers intertwined.

 

“Ready, sir?” the man holding his harness screamed over the whipping sounds of the wind. 

 

“No!” Daniel screamed back, fingers clawing tightly against the man’s outer jacket.

 

Daniel watches the man’s face register laughter at his suffering, and then he disentangled himself from Daniel’s strong grip.

 

Because of all things to do on a first date, Jihoon wanted to go hang-gliding. 

 

Off the tallest hill he could find.

 

“Like  _ damn _ , Jihoon, I told you I’d help you fly,” Daniel’s teeth chattered as he felt the boy giggling when the two of them were strapped together for the jump, “But I didn’t mean it literally.”

 

“Relax, hyung,” Jihoon clicks his tongue as he grips the bar and Daniel hugs Jihoon tight,  _ because if he’s going to die here at least he has a handsome boy in his arms _ . “I said, RELAX, I can’t breathe when you hug me like that.”

 

Daniel looks at Jihoon and the younger boy had the  _ audacity _ to blush at such a time as this, and Daniel wonders how the younger even managed to get him to say yes. 

 

“If we live through this,” Daniel licks his quickly drying lips, but begins screaming as the crew pulled them into position and he can feel the gusts of air threatening to pull them up. “If we live through this I am going to kiss the life out of you.”

 

“ _ If _ ,” Jihoon grins mischievously at him and Daniel starts whimpering out loud.

 

“Alright, let’s get it!” the crew shouts over the hissing wind, and Daniel feels them getting lifted up and something clicking and suddenly they’re hurtling forward on a wind current. He hears the sound of someone blubbering uselessly and screaming and crying and it takes him a minute to realize it’s him; there’s also the sound of someone laughing and hooting and ultimately enjoying this death trap and he figures that Jihoon must have really hated him today.

 

He has his eyes shut tight, arms frozen around Jihoon and knuckles turning white at his grasp on the metal bar. He sees nothing, but feels the both of them swaying here and there. Daniel’s stomach drops with each lurch in the air.

 

“Hyung,” Jihoon calls, his tone melodic and with a tinge of a smile on his low voice. “Hyung, open your eyes!”

 

“No, Park Jihoon, you can’t make me!” Daniel cries, feeling his legs buckling. 

 

“Hyung,” Jihoon whined, voice slightly irritated. “Open your eyes or I won’t take you out for a second date!” 

 

“I’ll take you out for the second date, you little brat,” Daniel whined back, taken aback that he did just agree to another date, and would gladly keep going on dates as long as the next ones were  _ normal _ . 

 

But Daniel did crack one eye open, and his other eye followed at the sheer grandeur of the view below them. He could see the tops of trees right below his feet, the ocean shore from miles away, and the cityscape from even farther out. The mountains looked majestic around them, as did the ever changing scenery as they tilted this way and that on the hang glider. 

 

Strangely, even in this careening death-trap miles above sea level, and with all the breathtaking sights around them, Daniel still focuses on the best view - Jihoon smiling and laughing beside him. 

 

And damn all his dramatics and his internal monologues that maybe going out with this boy is the wrong idea, because he suddenly felt at ease and comfortable in enjoying this view.

 

“How do you do that,” Daniel started, shouting over the air as he loosened his grip a bit on the metal bar; looking away to marvel at the ocean view. 

 

“I’ve been doing this since I was young,” Jihoon excitedly explains. “This is how you steer-”

 

“No, I mean,” Daniel interrupts, angling his body a bit to face Jihoon. “How do you know just what I need to gently calm me down.” 

 

Jihoon is taken aback at Daniel’s serious expression and the distance (or lack thereof) between their faces; and Daniel feels them tilting sharply, eliciting another scream from him despite the atmosphere he wanted to create. 

 

“Wha-” Jihoon turned red as he gets his bearings back on the hang glider.

 

“I can’t keep my eyes off you,” Daniel shouts, worried that he’d cause them both to crash and burn if he surprised Jihoon now. “Can I...can I kiss you?”

 

Jihoon burns red suddenly, and Daniel wonders how  _ this is a big deal when the boy could jump down from a mountain without batting an eye,  _ but he smiles when Jihoon stiffly nods. 

 

Daniel shakily tilts over and takes Jihoon’s lips in his, and he swears it’s one of the craziest things he’s done - but if he was going to fall to his death today; might as well fall hopelessly in love with a beautiful boy in the air while he’s at it. 

 

***

 

_ 2 years later. _

 

Jihoon throws his phone down on the locker room seat and grumpily marched to his locker, roughly pulling at the towels. 

 

“Can’t keep his eyes off me,  _ my ass _ ,” Jihoon grunts. 

 

Woojin hits the back of Jihoon’s head as he takes the locker space beside his bestfriend. “The freshmen don’t need to see their captain grumpy right before a regional match,” Woojin hissed as he took a towel of his own. “What’s got you so mad anyway?” 

 

“Daniel said he can’t make it today, he’s too busy practicing zero tempo quick with the new spiker for the national team,” Jihoon groused, taking a seat inside the locker room with both legs stretched out in front of him. “Why doesn’t he just  _ date the new spiker. _ ”

 

“Is Park Jihoon jealous?” Woojin grinned, pushing his friend to sit beside him as well. “Oh my god, are you actually jealous?”

 

“I bet I’m a better spiker than whoever the national team just got,” Jihoon grumbled, tying his laces roughly. 

 

“Hoonie,” Woojin tries to keep himself from laughing out loud, “Daniel-hyung runs to the dorm the minute you so much as bruise yourself from practice. Are you seriously doubting him now?” 

 

“Have you  _ seen _ the players at the national training center?” Jihoon scoffed, standing up to join their teammates in the stadium. “For all I know, Daniel’s hang-gliding with every single one of them!” 

 

Woojin looks at his friend’s retreating back before whispering to no one in particular, “Hang...gliding?” he shudders after he chases after his captain. “Who does that?” 

 

*

 

Unsurprisingly, the Seoul team wins with their captain almost breaking a record for number of spikes in a single match, shooting them straight to the semifinals. After Jihoon celebrates with the team in the locker rooms, he finds himself staring at his phone waiting for a call. 

 

“Jihoon, I’m leaving,” Woojin taps his friend on the back and grins. “Got a date.”

 

“Lucky you,” Jihoon replies, barely looking up from his phone.  _ First he doesn’t watch the game, and now he doesn’t even call to ask how it was? _

 

“You best go home soon, too,” Woojin called as he walked out. “They’re already closing the gym.”

 

Jihoon grunts as a reply, and sighs as he begins packing his things.  _ Stupid Kang Daniel and stupid national team and stupid national team spikers. _

 

When Jihoon leaves the locker room - he is indeed the only one left at the facility - he trudges grumpily onto the field, a shortcut to the station that was closer to his house. He feels a shady figure following him, and tries to go around in circles - into the football field; where absolutely no one would go at this hour.

 

When the figure still followed, Jihoon turned around and held hands up in a guard stance. The man was taller, had his whole face covered with a black cap, a black mask, and thick sunglasses even though it was already late in the afternoon. 

 

“What’s your problem?” Jihoon shouts angrily, prepared to send the man to the hospital.

 

“Jihoon, it’s me,” the voice from behind the mask laughs. 

 

“Daniel, you ass,” Jihoon sighs in relief and puts his hands down. “What is  _ this _ ? What are you wearing?” 

 

Daniel takes off the cap, the shades, and lowers his mask to reveal a sweaty smiling puppy face - the same face Jihoon was met with that day at the gym during his freshman year.

 

“Last time I went to one of your matches, everyone kept wanting to get an autograph,” Daniel explains, earning an eyeroll from Jihoon. “Today nobody approached me, but I’m surprised that even you did not recognize me!” 

 

“How can I recognize you!” Jihoon grunted, “I was about to spike through your face, thinking you were a gang member!” 

 

“I’m a _ Kang _ member,” Daniel joked, looking so proud of himself for the quick comeback that Jihoon almost wanted to laugh so the boy doesn’t feel bad. 

 

“Well,  _ Kang member _ ,” Jihoon recalls that he was upset with the older boy, “Why don’t you go back to national team practice and zero tempo quick with the better spikers there.”

 

Jihoon scoffs, pretending to look nonchalant as he roughly adjusts the gym bag on his shoulder.

 

“Aish, are you jealous?” Daniel smiles, reaching out to put a hand on top of Jihoon’s head, only to be swatted away. 

 

“No,” Jihoon lies, turning around to walk himself home. 

 

Daniel giggles and chases after the younger boy, tackling him onto the field lawn. At this hour, most of the spectators and players have already gone home, and they have the sunset and the field to themselves.

 

“Get off me,” Jihoon gasps for breath as Daniel wraps arms to keep him in place. 

 

“Not until you let me give you the standard congratulations kiss, kid,” Daniel pins Jihoon’s arms above his head, a stupid dorky grin on his handsome face.

 

“Fine, do it quickly,” Jihoon relents, shutting his eyes tight - pretending that he’s about to get a vaccine and not a gentle kiss on the forehead. For the past two years, he gets a victory kiss after each game - regardless whether he won or lost. And strangely enough, Daniel always finds a way to watch all his matches despite the older’s busy schedule.

 

So Jihoon makes sure to win them all. 

 

Whatever tough facade Jihoon was determined to keep for the rest of the evening melts away the moment Daniel’s plump lips lays a gentle kiss on his forehead. 

 

“Why are you so jealous of the national team spikers?” Daniel smiled as he lifted up and lets go of Jihoon’s hands.

 

“Because they get to spend more time with you,” Jihoon explains as he sat up, tugging at grass to throw it at Daniel. He was way past the point of pouting and acting like a child in this relationship - but he still wanted to spend more time with the older boy. “I miss spiking your tosses.”

 

“Whatever happened to _ I only spike tosses from Hwang Minhyun _ ?” Daniel grins, enjoying the reaction he gets from teasing the easily-angered boy.

 

“Hwang Minhyun is in college with Ong Seongwoo,” Jihoon growls, throwing more grass at Daniel’s face. “They’re doing great in the college circuit. As a matter of fact, they’re trying to recruit me for their university next year.”

 

Jihoon raises a cheeky grin at Daniel. “Maybe I’ll start spiking his tosses exclusively again.”

 

“Hwang Minhyun isn’t the national setter,” Daniel argued.

 

“He was invited too, you know - but he wanted to prioritize studies,” Jihoon shot back, happy to be the one in control of the situation now. “For all we know,  _ he _ could be national setter.”

 

It was Daniel’s turn to pout. “Well as I said, why are you so jealous of the national team spikers?”

 

Jihoon raised an eyebrow, because Daniel wasn’t in the habit of repeating questions - and he hated repeating his answers. “Do I have to say it agai-”

 

“When you’re going to be a national spiker yourself?” Daniel cut in, holding up a letter he had kept hidden in his jacket. Jihoon’s eyes blew wide.

 

“Are you- are you telling me t-that…” Jihoon started stuttering. 

 

“Advanced invite,” Daniel said, handing the letter over and watched as Jihoon tore the envelope open to read the contents. “The coach wanted to make sure we locked you already, and I begged him to let me be the one to tell yo- OOMF.”

 

It was Jihoon’s turn to tackle Daniel onto the field, lips on the older boy’s lips as he tried to keep himself from smiling long enough to give Daniel a proper kiss. He feels Daniel’s strong arms around his waist, eagerly kissing back and laughing in between. 

 

“So do we switch ‘forehead victory kiss’ to ‘national team acceptance make out’?” Daniel teases, earning a hiss and a punch from Jihoon. 

 

“Keep up that attitude and all you get from now on is a ‘national team serve to the face’ the next time we play,” the younger replied, smiling widely; the two of them now splayed out on the middle of the field. 

 

“Congratulations, my ace,” Daniel smiles, stroking Jihoon’s hair as they lay down on the grass - the golden light of the sunset bathing them both in a warm glow. 

  
  


*

  
  


Jihoon runs with Woojin into the gym - having dropped their luggage in their dormitory rooms in a rush. It was their first day on the team and he couldn’t believe that the younger Park caused them to be late.

 

“How can you even be on the national team when you take a bath so slowly?” Jihoon growled as they sprinted.

 

“Bath time and volleyball skill aren’t related,” Woojin sneers, overtaking the older boy. 

 

“HELLO!” The two of them shouted as they slid open the door and bowed low, to the surprise of the national team and the new recruits that were lined up in front of them.

 

“Park and Park,” the coach raised an eyebrow. “Why don’t the two of you line up with the new recruits, and I’ll have you run 10 laps for being late after the introductions?”

 

Jihoon and Woojin gulped but took their place. 

 

“Jihoonie!” a familiar voice called from the practicing team, arms waving wildly above his head as his teammates started snickering and whispering. Jihoon shyly waves back - he’s making all the wrong first impressions with the national team today.

 

“Kang Daniel, the nation’s setter,” someone from the new recruits, a boy named Haknyeon, gasped.  “You know him?”

 

“Of course,” Jihoon smiles as the coach calls for the recruits to join the rest of the national team. “He’s my setter.”

 

Jihoon runs faster than he had ever sprinted, because Daniel was smiling at him from the middle of the gym - and he can’t wait to see what the two of them could do on the same side of the court.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that wraps up He's My Setter! It started out as me rediscovering my love for Tooru Oikawa and now I have a 7 chapter NW fic lol
> 
> Thanks for everyone who has read through the whole thing, and congratulations for making it to the end! I hope you enjoyed it in one way or another :3 Please do leave a comment if you did! I'd be happy to know what you thought of the story :D (and will somehow make...all those hours writing worth the sacrifice...)
> 
> I'm taking a quick break from writing (because wow it takes so much time just to punch out a chapter aaa) - but I do have a draft in the works so please watch out for it sometime this month :D It's going to be a bodyguard!Daniel x model!Jihoon with chaebol!Ong x singer!Minhyun ;;;;) Say hi over at [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/cheesehoonie) if u want to drop ideas :>
> 
> Note: I know nothing about hang-gliding so...let's just pretend I made sense during that first part  
> I also know nothing about national team practices except from a few episodes of Weightlifting Fairy so...  
> Pls just focus on the fluff *U*

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't think I'd be writing this AU but I was stuck in line at the bank and had nothing better to do AND APPARENTLY A LOT OF NIELWINK SHIPPERS ARE HAIKYUU FANS? Or at least...like five people I talk to on Twitter...
> 
> Also decided to inject in some one-sided hwangwink because they look so beautiful together /cries
> 
> Watch out for smol bratty Jihoon and overtalented but clueless Daniel in the coming chapters :>  
> This won't be as long or as heavy as Coffee's for Closers, but I hope you enjoy this piece of slightly crack-y fluff!
> 
> Will try to go for a weekly update, so kudos and comments are much appreciated (lol is this even an AU people would read)!


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